Firewater Rose Part 2
by Kerella
Summary: The war is over, but hidden dangers threaten the tentative peace on all sides. Can the young Fire Lord balance his promise to Aang, the needs of his people, and keep the fragile peace?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: the Last Airbender. I'll take full blame for this plot, though.

**Firewater Rose: Recap**

When we last saw our friends, Zuko had just ended his father's reign. Sokka had just planted his boomerang in Azula's back. Katara had just given birth prematurely to a daughter she was later told died a short time later. The child was the result of repeated sexual assaults while in Zhao's custody. Pakku delivered said child to the Southern Water Temple and named her, "Kanna." Aang died in Zuko's arms after destroying Sozin's Comet, and the world came to believe that he died in the Avatar State, thus breaking the Avatar Cycle. So far, only Zuko knows that the Avatar will be reborn. And the first chapter is backtracking just a bit, back to the Night of the Comet. On with the story!

Any additional Author's Notes and Special Thanks will be in my profile.

* * *

**Firewater Rose: Arc 2, Chapter 1**

The air was thick with the fumes of burned wood, burned flesh, and everything else in the Fire Palace that could burn as the waterbenders worked through the night to put out the fires. Skeletal fingers of structural beams stood out in stark contrast to the bright orange flames that still burned inside. Numbly, Zuko helped his uncle carry the water tribe warrior down the stairs of the grand entrance.

Slowly, the boy was regaining consciousness. Once they were safely away from the palace and out of the way of the waterbenders, they set him down and leaned him against the wrought-iron fence that decorated the grand entrance. For half the night, uncle and nephew stared in wonder as one of the greatest reminders of Fire Lord Ozai's reign burned away.

When Sokka came to, he stood behind Zuko. "Now there's something you don't see every day," he quipped lightheartedly. Any further comments from him, lighthearted or otherwise, died in his throat when Zuko and Iroh turned cold stares to him.

When the last of the fires were quenched in the early hours of the morning, Iroh tapped Zuko on the shoulder and pointed to a handful of Fire Sages standing on the stairs. The Sages bowed deeply in front of Zuko, prompting him to turn a confused gaze to Iroh.

"Fire Lord Zuko," one began, "we are about to begin removing the dead. I fear there is nothing to salvage within the Palace."

"Come, Lord Zuko," Iroh's voice was stern, "Let us get you to your retreat. There is no need for you to stay here."

"I will stay," Zuko's voice was firm, resolute. _Fire Lord Zuko..._ In all the chaos of the fire, the destruction, in turning his homeland on its ear, it hadn't occurred to him that it had been him that defeated Ozai in an Agni Kai, therefore, making him the new Fire Lord. That realization would have meant the world to him six months earlier. Now, it was a hollow victory.

Slowly, a stretcher bearing a body was brought out. Zuko caught his breath for a moment. The body was too big to belong to a 12-year-old, though. The somber procession stopped next to the Sage that had addressed him, and the sheet was pulled back. _Father..._ Solemnly, reverently, the Sage removed Ozai's crown from his head and wrapped it in a red velvet cloth.

"Fire Lord Zuko, it was Fire Lord Ozai's final wish to be cremated. What are your orders?" the Sage asked.

Iroh stepped behind his nephew, holding his gaze forward, prepared to advise the new Fire Lord if it was needed. It wasn't.

"Cremate him. In two days' time, he will receive his funeral pyre," Zuko ordered. "Here, in the city's central square. Use timbers from the Palace to build it."

As he gazed at the corpse that had been his father, Zuko felt... nothing. No anger, no grief. He couldn't dredge up any emotion at all. Concern reflected in Iroh's eyes as he observed his nephew.

More bodies were brought out one by one, and moved to a makeshift morgue. They all ranged in status from maids to advisors, lined-up next to the former Fire Lord himself. An anguished cry sounded behind Zuko's left shoulder as the last body was brought out. Sokka dashed up the stairs as Aang's body was laid out on the top landing.

Zuko followed him up the stairs and knelt on the ground next to the Avatar's body. Where Zuko had felt nothing for the death of his father, a great swell of grief rose up within him at the sight of Aang's broken body. A shadow stretched across the corpse, it's finger pointing off in the distance.

Zuko looked up to see what Iroh was pointing at. On the far side of the square, Avatar Roku's statue was on fire. Angry shouts rang out in the morning air. A horde of angry shadows railed against the Avatar's likeness.

"Guards!" Zuko called. A half-dozen men in Fire Palace livery immediately appeared at their Lord's side. "Guard this body with your lives."

Zuko stood next to his uncle, leaving Sokka to grieve for their friend in quiet. Iroh spoke first.

"Such anger," he said, his voice marked with calm wisdom as he watched the throng gathered around Roku's likeness, "If there is one mob like this, there are a thousand around the Fire Nation."

"They're just mad that Sozin's Comet's been destroyed," Zuko remarked. "They'll calm down in a few days."

"Do you really think so, Fire Lord Zuko?" Iroh raised one wizened brow to his nephew, "The Water Tribe doesn't have the strength to protect an Avatar. Perhaps it is for the best that the cycle is broken."

Zuko stared at his uncle.

"If the cycle is unbroken, their revenge on the Avatar and his Tribe will be swift and merciless," Iroh emphasizing, "merciless."

* * *

One of the Sages nudged his shoulder, but Sokka refused to acknowledge him. _What am I going to tell Katara?_ Images of his sister, laughing at some silly comment the monk had made, or hugging him, or one of a hundred tender moments he had witnessed the two of them sharing flowed through his memory. The sage nudged him a little harder, and he looked up with bloodshot eyes.

"We have to move him, young man. We can't leave him here," the Sage told him quietly.

Sokka looked up to where Roku's statue was ablaze. He nodded his bleary agreement and stood up, giving the Sages room to move Aang's body to a safer spot. A glint of metal on one of the steps caught his eye and he bent down to pick it up. It was his boomerang.

_Hmm. Musta fallen off her when they carried her out, _he thought. He secured the weapon behind his back and took the longest walk of his life back to where Appa was waiting.

* * *

A very tired Fire Lord Zuko gazed coldly at one of three advisors standing in his audience chamber. The rotund man was dressed opulently in gold silks and crimson velvets that dragged on the floor behind him wherever he walked. Zuko was certain that the only combat the man had ever seen was an argument over what to have for dessert.

"Repair it again," Zuko hissed at the man.

"But, my lord, the dissidents will just tear it back down," the pudgy man insisted.

"That statue has stood at the center of the square for a hundred years. I will not tolerate disrespect for the Avatar's sacrifice! Avatar Roku's statue will be restored."

For the last three months, Zuko had been overseeing the rebuilding of the Fire Nation capital. Much of the city was left in ruins after the Comet. Most of its citizens were living in tent colonies wherever there was a spot clear of rubble. Zuko had spotted the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone by commissioning artisans to restore the city's most cherished cultural history with funds from the Palace's treasury, pumping valuable coin into the economy.

Still, vast portions of the city were being built anew. The last vestiges of Sozin's reign were burned away. The people were slowly leaving the city's former identity behind, and with it, it's name. Some circles had re-christened it Kuang-feng, "Fierce Wind," in honor of Avatar Aang. The change pleased the new Fire Lord, so it was made official.

There had been nothing left of the Fire Palace to salvage. The debris was cleared away, and the shell of a new palace was taking shape. It would be another month or more before the building would be ready to serve in any official capacity. Until then, the Fire Lord kept court at his late father's retreat north of the city.

The pudgy man opened his mouth to continue his protest, but was silenced by an abrupt motion from his Lord to be quiet.

"You're all dismissed until after lunch. I'm sure the cook has something new and fascinating to eat this afternoon," Zuko released his advisors, all but one.

"Uncle, would you join me for lunch, today?"

Iroh suppressed a chuckle. "Fire Lord Zuko, I was under the impression that the seats on both sides of yours were taken..."

Zuko stood up from his throne with a grumble. At that moment, a chorus of high-pitched giggling erupted from his dining room. The Fire Lord scowled in the direction that the offending noise had come from.

"No, Uncle, I will be dining in my chambers today. Have the cook deliver our meals to my sitting room?"

Iroh repressed a laugh, and nodded. Zuko slipped out of the rear entrance to his audience chamber while Iroh set off for the kitchens. A few minutes later, Iroh led the cook into Zuko's sitting room. The cook laid their meal out on a small table as the two men kneeled to eat.

"So, nephew, which is the lucky girl?" Iroh prodded with a twinkle in his eye. "Will it be Meishi? Or Keiko? Keiko's a very pretty girl..."

"None of them, Uncle."

"None? As Fire Lord, you have a duty..." Iroh fumbled.

"I have a duty to not die and leave my people in chaos because I stupidly married the daughter of some two-bit politician with designs on my throne," Zuko finished. "When I take a wife, she will care more about this nation than herself."

"Surely you're not insinuating that Lady Meishi or Lady Keiko would..."

"I'm not insinuating anything. Their fathers were loyal to my father. I don't trust them," Zuko took a bite of something that looked like fish, but he didn't taste it. "Can we please discuss the business of the nation?"

Iroh refrained from pointing out that a royal marriage was the business of the nation, and opted to move on to an easier topic. "Have you selected your emissaries, yet?"

"One, yes," Zuko began. "You. I need you to go to the Southern Water Tribe."

"Me? Why?" Iroh was perplexed. Zuko pushed the remaining fish around on his tin plate with his fork.

"You're the only one I trust with this mission, and the only one I know who can do it. Once you locate the tribe, look for a waterbender named Katara. She'll be about my age. Ask her to come to the Palace on behalf of her tribe. If she balks, I will provide you with a package to deliver that may change her mind.

"Once you are there, you will be my ambassador to them. I'm sending Shyu with you. He's transporting copies from the library at his temple to the Southern Water Temple. Give him any support he requires."

Iroh nodded his agreement. "Very well, Zuko, if that is your wish."

Zuko smiled. In public, Iroh was an infallible display of decorum. In private, they remained simply, "Uncle," and, "Zuko." The remainder of their meal was spent discussing spending plans and the ongoing restoration efforts. As they prepared to return to the audience chamber for the Fire Lord's afternoon meetings, Zuko grabbed Iroh's shoulder.

"Contact Admiral Jee. I want you to take him, his crew, and his ship on this mission."

Iroh nodded to his nephew. If Iroh was the only man Zuko could trust with this mission, Jee was the only man Zuko could trust with his uncle. As the kitchen aids entered to clear away the dishes, Zuko stopped the one that had grabbed his plain plate.

"Tell your master that his fate is bound to that plate. The next time I find it in the rubbish pile, the Kitchen Master will join it," he instructed the youngster. Iroh looked as if he desperately wished to say something, but Zuko didn't feel like explaining himself to his uncle.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: the Last Airbender

**Firewater Rose Arc 2 Chapter 2**

The dock creaked under his weight. He wasn't looking forward to this trip. The sea could be murder on old bones, and his were starting to feel their age. In front of him, a massive Fire Navy ship floated. The cargo door of the bow was open as coal, food, and other sundries were loaded from one section of the pier, and the gangplank had been extended in front of him.

Iroh didn't need any help finding the quarters reserved for important guests aboard the ship. He'd spent enough time on one warship or another, and it seemed that his bed was always in the same spot. He deposited his personal effects on his cot. A sailor would be along shortly with his gear.

This cabin was different from the others he'd been in. It took a moment for him to realize the difference. It wasn't the paint. Well, the paint was different - a lighter color of grey that made the room less oppressive, but that wasn't the main difference. It was the light. His cabin was on an outer wall, looking over the deck. The fact that he could see the deck at all was the difference. Someone had re-fit the ship with heavy glass windows. Small as they were, the natural light that filtered through was almost enough to let him forget he was on a warship.

Satisfied with his sleeping arrangements, Iroh set out on deck to oversee the rest of the activity. In the passage he passed his neighbor for the journey, the Fire Sage, Shyu. Each man nodded a polite greeting to the other and continued about his business.

On deck, sailors scurried about the daily business of taking care of their ship. Decks were scrubbed, windows were washed, and the captain and helmsman crossed the deck, pointing animatedly at different points on the map they were holding between them.

A commotion on the docks caught Iroh's attention. A column of royal guards was pushing their way toward the ship. Iroh knew the identity of the man in the lead well before the details of his face could be seen. His nephew had come to bid him a farewell.

"Good morning, Fire Lord Zuko!" Iroh beamed. "A fine day to set sail, yes?"

"A fine day, indeed, Ambassador Iroh," Zuko commented. "I have a few things for you. May I join you in your quarters for a moment?"

"Certainly, my Lord."

Iroh led the entourage down the short passageway that led from his quarters to the main deck. When he opened the door, Zuko motioned for his guard to remain outside while he and Iroh conversed within. Once inside the room with the door secured, Zuko held out a package wrapped in crimson paper and adorned with an envelope that was stamped with his royal insignia.

"This is my most prized possession, Uncle. If she should hesitate, ask her to escort this safely back to me, at least."

Iroh accepted the package, but refrained from asking what might be inside it.

"One last thing. Anything Shyu asks of you, provide it. Anything," Zuko's voice, serious as it was, was less like Fire Lord Zuko and more like Iroh's nephew. This wasn't official business, it was personal, and of utmost importance.

After Zuko had returned to his meetings and audiences, and after the ship had weighed anchor and was steaming out of the harbor, Iroh picked the package up again. It was as wide and as long as his forearm, and a handspan deep.

_His most prized posession, eh?_ Iroh thought to himself. He opened his traveling trunk and placed it inside. Confident that it wouldn't shift much and take damage on the trip, he withdrew the Pai-sho game stored underneath it and set the pieces out on his small dining table. As soon as they were arranged to his liking, he set off to find Jee, and a pot of tea.

* * *

Sokka solemnly stood watch on his wall through the night, just as he'd done every night since his return. Long gone were his dreams of returning a triumphant warrior, bedecked in glory and valor. In their place were terrifying dreams of blood and sacrifice, painful memories of a friend forever lost, and a fear of an uncertain future.

The women of his tribe wouldn't speak openly of it, but Sokka knew. Nearly six months had passed since Sozin's Comet was destroyed and the war officially ended. Six months, and none of their warriors had returned. None. If they hadn't returned by now, they weren't going to.

_Father, can you hear me? I won't ask if you're proud of me, but can you forgive me?_

Sokka leaned against his spear. Aang was dead. Katara had been violated in ways he'd never known were possible. Where other women might be dishonored or ashamed of an unwanted pregnancy, his sister showed remarkable resolve. It was only after the child died at birth that her strength wavered and the tears came.

Sokka almost wished the child had survived for his sister's sake. Gran-gran had said it was for the best, though. The girl had the eyes of whatever demon had sired her. Katara shouldn't have to spend the rest of her life looking into those eyes.

A black speck appeared on the horizon, silhouetted against the flame-kissed orange of dawn. Sokka watched it for a moment, tracking its movement. It churned through the deep blue waters on a direct course for the village. Sokka sounded the alarm.

"Fire Navy ship!"

The village came alive. Women bolted out of igloos and tents to gather food and skins left outside to cure. These items were quickly stashed in homes along with their owners and their owners' children. As quickly as it had come alive, the village fell silent.

The sound of a boot scraping against the snow caused Sokka to turn around.

"Get in the house, Katara. I can't protect you if you're out here."

"I didn't ask you to protect me," she said icily. "I'm the only waterbender in the entire South Pole, and I'm not going to go hide in my hut."

"Katara, the last time you dealt with the Fire Nation..."

"Don't start with me, Sokka! I'm a Master Waterbender and you need me!" she yelled, narrowing her eyes to the point that Sokka could almost see the icicle-shaped daggers she was glaring at him. Sokka sighed.

The pair stood on Sokka's wall and watched as the approaching ship dropped its anchor a quarter-mile offshore. A smaller craft appeared alongside, cruising toward the village. As it neared, four people were visible on deck. Two were wearing firebender armor, one was obviously the pilot of the craft, and the fourth was a round, aging man wearing minimal armor. It was this man that drew Sokka's interest. He seemed somewhat familiar. As the craft drew closer, he recognized the Dragon of the West.

The landing boat drew softly alongside the ice flow that supported the village. The firebenders disembarked first, then offered Iroh a hand each, which he gladly accepted. The aging general crossed his arms and rubbed his shoulders vigorously as he approached the ice wall. When his eyes met Sokka's, he broke into a broad grin.

"Greetings, Sokka! Just the man I had hoped to see!" he beamed, then turned to Katara, "And the lady!"

Katara exchanged a puzzled glance with Sokka.

"General Iroh," Sokka shouted down to the visitors, "what brings you to the South Pole?"

"It's Ambassador Iroh, now, and unfortunately, business brings me here. But, perhaps we can discuss this over a nice cup of tea?" the grinning old man produced a teapot and a package of dried tea leaves.

* * *

Iroh warmed his hands around the steaming cup of tea. It wasn't ginseng, but it would do nicely after being out in the cold for so long. Of the Water Tribe, only Sokka had poured a cup for himself. Katara and her grandmother both sat quietly across the table from Iroh. It was Katara that spoke first.

"If this isn't a personal visit, what business brings you here?"

"Well, you are direct. And I will be direct," Iroh carefully placed his teacup back on its saucer. "Fire Lord Zuko has sent me here as his diplomatic representative to the Water Tribe, to initiate diplomatic relations between our nations."

Katara and Sokka each raised an eyebrow but said nothing. The older woman remained unmoved.

"My first duty," Iroh continued, "is to request a representative from the Water Tribe to the Fire Lord's court."

Katara and Sokka each raised their other eyebrow. The grey-haired woman studied Iroh carefully.

When they didn't take the bait, Iroh finally decided to relay Zuko's wishes. "Fire Lord Zuko has requested the presence of Lady Katara in his court." He looked up to Katara to gauge her reaction. Her eyebrows had returned to their usual position, but she was biting her lower lip.

"I... I need to think," she stuttered.

"I understand completely if you cannot take the position, but my nephew has put his most prized possession in my charge, and I must see it safely returned to him. If you do not accept the position, would you at least do me the favor of bringing his prize safely back to him?" Iroh asked.

* * *

Katara gazed at the old man in front of her in confusion. He wanted her to sail that... that... warship back to Zuko? She had no idea how to command a crew! _The old man must be insane!_

"But... it's a warship..." she said.

Iroh chuckled at her. "Not the ship! This!" he produced something wrapped in velvet from the bottom of the case that held his tea set. Carefully, he handed it to her. "Perhaps you could explain its value to me."

Katara gently pulled the plush red velvet back, and gasped. Nestled reverently within the rich cloth was a tin plate adorned only with dents, dings and scores of a hundred utensils scraped across its surface. Tears rimmed Katara's eyes. She took a corner of the velvet and buffed a spot of tarnish that darkened the edge.

Katara took one shaky breath and tried to speak, but her voice had temporarily abandoned her. She felt one hand on her right shoulder, and turned to find Sokka standing next to her, encouraging her. She felt another hand on left shoulder, and turned to find Gran-gran standing on the other side of her, reassuring her.

She held her head up and looked Iroh in the eye. It was then she noticed the similarity. They weren't the same eyes. The eyes in front of her now were just a little darker, a little more worldly, but they carried the same pride, the same dignity. No, they weren't the same. _But close enough._

With one more breath, a little stronger this time, she began the story. She told of being captured by Zhao, being thrown into a cell next to the exiled Prince, their agreement, their escape and eventual rescue. She glossed over the more painful details, letting the old man's imagination fill in the holes she left in the story.

No one spoke until she finished the telling. When she was finished, it was several uncomfortable moments before anyone spoke. Finally, Iroh broke the silence.

"That explains a great many things," he said, "but most of all, it explains why he requested you. He trusts you. The question is, will you accept?"

Katara glanced first to Gran-gran, who gave her a faint smile. Then she turned to Sokka, who nodded.

"I will return this to him, at least," she conceded.

* * *

_I carried more stuff with me the last time I left_, Katara thought to herself. She had only brought a pack containing the most basic of her needs. _Then again, I'm coming right back home._

The warship was getting closer and closer, or rather, the landing craft she was on was getting closer to ship. There was a bit of a jolt as the boat was brought within the cargo bay. A greying man assisted her in getting out of the little boat without landing on her face. When she looked up, several rows of sailors were lined-up in front of her, standing as tall as their backs could stretch.

"Good morning, Ambassador Katara. I'm Admiral Jee. If there's anything you require for your voyage to Kuang-feng, let any of our officers know and we will see to it. Now, let's get you to your quarters."

Katara didn't bother to tell him that she wasn't an ambassador. The last time she had seen so many Fire Nation sailors... Try as she might to avoid it, the ship and its crew were dredging up very bad memories.

She followed the Admiral through the ship, and the fear in the pit of her stomach grew. Passages, the way the shadows fell across doorways, even the rivets themselves reminded her of Zhao's ship. She shuddered as Jee led her past a door marked, "Brig."

Jee noticed her reaction. "I apologize for bringing you this way, Ambassador, but it's the most direct way to your quarters."

"It's alright, it's just..."

"Fire Lord Zuko asked me to tell you that Zhao's ship was destroyed in the attack on the Northern Water Tribe. This ship has been refit since the end of the war, but it is the sister ship of that one. It is not the same ship," Jee interrupted.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"Now, here we go. These are your quarters for the journey. As I said, if you need anything, let one of the officers know. I will have your lunch brought to you at noon," he bowed to her, then strode out on deck.

Katara opened the door to her quarters. _Well, at least my accommodations are better than last time._ _But not much._ The windows were entirely too small for Katara's liking. The lack of natural light made the room seem to close in around her. Everything around her reminded her that she was on a warship, and no matter how many times it was repainted or how many windows you installed, it was still a warship.

She looked out the window to the line in the ice that was Sokka's wall. A single figure stood on the wall, and she knew it was her brother. She leaned against the window and watched the water flow about the ice for a few minutes. _Where am I going? Why am I leaving? Which Zuko am I going to find when I get there? The one that saved my brother and I both, or the one that hunted Aang?_

That brought a fresh stab of pain. She was going to the place where Aang died. She was going to talk to the last person to see him alive. Would she be able to do this, or would her feet freeze on the palace steps and refuse to budge?

She set her pack down on the little table. In the corner, a sturdy trunk sat open. A splash of blue in the grey abyss that was her room caught her eye. She went to the trunk to get a closer look. It was a silk robe. She pulled it out to examine it more closely.

The workmanship was excellent. The body of the robe was unadorned deep blue silk, and without a mirror to be certain, she was fairly sure it was the same color as her eyes. Dainty moonblossoms were carefully embroidered along the hem and around the cuffs.

She rifled through the trunk and found several such garments, mostly in varying shades of blue or violet. Each was elegant and beautiful in its simplicity, and each was pretty close to her size. The only thing missing was an indication of who was responsible for their presence.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock to her door. She opened it to find the Admiral standing in the doorway.

"I thought, perhaps you would like to be on deck as we weigh anchor and set sail," he said. "Leaving home is hard no matter how many times you do it."

She smiled at him. "I would like that, thank you. Admiral, do you know who..." she gestured to the trunk. He grinned.

"The Fire Lord and Ambassador Iroh both. Our Fire Lord has never been one for shopping, so he sent the Ambassador to do it for him. He gave his uncle that robe that's on top and told him to use it as a guide," Jee laughed.

Katara blushed. _Well, I guess I know which Zuko I'll be met with._ That thought brought a smile to her lips as she emerged on deck to wave goodbye to her family once again.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: the Last Airbender

* * *

**Firewater Rose Arc 2 Chapter 3  
**

Katara wished for the fourteenth time that day that she had a mirror in her quarters. She smoothed-out and arranged her robe for the thirteenth time. Every strand of hair was carefully arranged. Her robes fitted her nearly perfectly.

The deep cerulean robes fit tightly around her chest. An embroidered silk sash at the waist marked a line around her figure. Above the border, the fit was very snug. Below the sash, the robes draped in luxurious silk folds. The neckline was high enough to have been modest on her a few years ago. Thanks to the combined effects of puberty and child birth, it was a little more revealing than she was comfortable with, but not scandalous.

_If anyone so much as glances at my breasts, I will freeze them in place,_ she vowed. _Oh, who am I kidding? I'm just a girl from the South Pole. I'm not royalty. I'm not cut out for this.  
_

She paced. She tried to smother the butterflies in her stomach. She went over and over what Jee told her in her mind. She would be accompanied to the Fire Palace by him and his officers. She would be presented to the Fire Lord. She would tell him... what?

_What do I say? 'Hi, how have you been since we escaped? What have you been up to since Aang died in your arms? Oh, here's your plate?'  
_

She continued pacing, trying to find the right words. Everything was either entirely too personal to discuss in front of Jee, much less the complete strangers that were certain to be there. If it wasn't too personal, it was polite drivel that felt not only unnatural to her, but also seemed like an insult to all they had endured together.

She was still pacing an hour later when Jee came to collect her for the procession.

* * *

No one said a word as the unusual entourage made its way through the streets of Kuang-feng. Jee stayed close to her right elbow. As they disembarked the ship, she felt crowded by Jee's closeness, and the guards were walking in tight formation around them.

As they moved through the city, her claustrophobia was replaced with gratitude. Not one person on the streets had gone unaffected by the final battle. Every glance was an accusation.

_You killed my brother!_

_You maimed my father!_

_You are the reason Mommy won't stop drinking! _

Ghosts of that conflagration haunted every building and every face she passed. Scorch marks, collapsed shops and hate-filled glares met her everywhere she looked. She understood why Jee and the soldiers were sticking so close to her.

After miles of anger and pain, they were at the grand entrance to the Fire Palace. A pair of identically dressed young men hailed them with crisp salutes, then opened the doors. As they passed through, Katara used all of her restraint to keep from dropping her jaw in awe.

Black granite ran a line from the entrance to another set of double doors. Another pair of identically-clad young men opened these doors. Katara was skillfully guided down more granite-inlaid hallways, through more gold leaf-embossed crimson doors, until they came to a pair that was not opened for them.

An older man stepped out. He was dressed in a heavy velvet robe of black and red with stylized gold flames at the hem. He had a few words with Jee before giving Katara an appraising look. He stepped back through the door and shut it behind him.

On the other side of the door, a voice rang out. "Presenting Admiral Jee and Ambassador Katara of the Southern Water Tribe."

Katara's robe suddenly seemed to become unbearably tight around her chest.

* * *

Zuko was engrossed in the numbers in front of him. Akaj was a pasty-faced bureaucrat, but he was a shrewd businessman and economist. Half of Zuko's economic development plan had been plucked directly from the man's head.

Akaj's suggestions were responsible for thousands of jobs for discharged military personnel. Soldiers were put to work rebuilding the nation's neglected and destroyed infrastructure such as its bridges and aqueducts; they were applying their military discipline and efficiency to those tasks.

The economy wasn't fully recovered by any stretch of the imagination, but it was making admirable progress. That progress was reflected in the numbers in front of Zuko now. After months of staring at similar data sets, they were finally beginning to make sense to him.

His thoughts were disturbed by the sound of his herald tapping his staff on the floor. The noise echoed through his audience chamber. He looked-up and nodded to the herald.

The herald's voice rang out loud and strong. "Presenting Admiral Jee and Ambassador Katara of the Southern Water Tribe."

Zuko handed the scroll of figures back to Akaj. The door opened and the herald stepped quickly off to one side. Jee strode into the room first, his head high as he approached the Fire Lord on his throne. Following closely behind Jee was Katara.

_I was right to pick those robes, _ Zuko noted. They were the perfect compliment to the color of her eyes. She glanced up to him for just a moment before the entire entourage dropped to their knees.

For a moment, Zuko was spellbound. She wasn't the spindly, gangly girl she had been when he had last seen her. She was a woman. Her figure had filled-out nicely and those robes were draping beautifully around that figure.

Then, Zuko remembered to breathe. Akaj surveyed the scene with an appraising eye. He scowled as he gazed at Katara.

Zuko rose from his throne. Where his father and grandfather had maintained a row of flame between themselves and their petitioners, Zuko had none.

"Rise," he said. "I trust your trip was uneventful?"

Katara rose smoothly to her feet. "Completely, Fire Lord Zuko."

"Well," Zuko smiled at the entourage, "I think now is a perfect time to adjourn for the day. Ambassador, you must do me the honor of joining me for dinner." It was not a request. It was a desperate plea, but Katara's spine still stiffened. She gave no response, and Zuko interpreted her silence as agreement.

* * *

Katara followed quietly behind Zuko as they walked to the dining room. He had not changed. Sure, his shoulders had broadened, his voice had deepened, and his hair had grown enough for a respectable top knot, but he was still the same boorish, selfish, demanding jerk as before.

She kept her chin up and her eyes firmly fixed on the back of his head. If he felt the ice she was glaring at him, he showed no discomfort. They passed a stone courtyard. In the center, a half-finished statue had been erected. Its sculptor had gone home for the day.

Katara stopped. Stopped walking, stopped breathing, stopped blinking. The head was the only finished part of the statue. Even without the telltale arrow on his forehead, she would have known Aang's face anywhere.

Zuko continued walking for a few more paces, but Katara paid him no attention. She forgot everything around her for a moment as she stared at Aang's peaceful likeness. She didn't see him turn back to her, but his voice at her right shoulder brought her back to reality.

"His last thoughts were about you," Zuko whispered. "There is something I have to tell you, but not here. Not now."

She stared at him for a moment. It would be so like Aang to be thinking of others at a time like that. She wanted to grab Zuko's arm and make him tell her the rest, make him give her a little piece of Aang back. The intense stare in Zuko's eyes and the firm set of his jaw led her to reconsider.

_Later _

"Come on," Zuko nodded to where the rest of his guests were waiting. "We will talk later. We eat now."

Katara tried to ignore the poisonous glares she was receiving from the crowd gathered around the fringes of the courtyard. Several of the women turned sharply as she approached, giving her their backs, and more than one advisor appeared to be smoldering in his robes.

Zuko resumed his position at the head of the procession and led them to a spacious dining hall. One table sat at the far end of the hall on a raised dais, the Fire Nation emblem emblazoned on the back of the chair in the center of the table. Obviously, this was Zuko's table and that was Zuko's chair. She and every other person in the room was shocked when Zuko directed her to the seat to his left.

Zuko took his seat next to her and immediately shoved his gilded porcelain plate out from in front of him. "Katara, I believe you have something of mine."

Katara blushed. She opened her travel pack and pulled out the Fire Lord's velvet-draped plate. He took it from her outstretched hands. She felt the temperature of the room rise when he placed it on the table in front of him.

The reactions around her ranged from unveiled anger to curiosity. She felt like the target of some secret joke and she wished someone would let her in on it, or at least explain what she had done wrong.

The courses of the meal passed in a daze. There was something that looked like ham, a vegetable dish with corn so small you could eat the entire cob in one bite, and enough bread to feed her tribe for a week. The man to Zuko's right spoke up during dessert.

"Well, it's not seal blubber or fish oil jelly, but I hope we can accomodate your Water Tribe tastes," the man said. A chorus of giggles echoed from the lower tables.

_If you're going to fish for a fight, old man, you've got to be smarter than the fish_.

"Fire Lord Zuko has been extremely gracious in seeing to my comforts," was all she said.

"If seal blubber and fish oil jelly were necessary to make the Ambassador comfortable, Akaj, we would all be eating it right now," Zuko stated flatly. The giggling stopped.

The remainder of the meal was finished without incident. Afterwards, Katara was led to her suite.

The suite was located in one of the wings not far from the Audience Chamber. It consisted of four rooms - a bedroom, a wash room, a sitting room, and another room that appeared to be an office of some kind. It had bookshelves, a desk, and several chairs, but she had no need for any of those things. She had done what she came to do. She was leaving as soon as she could explain this, "Ambassador," misunderstanding to Zuko. Her chance came sooner than she expected.

* * *

Zuko stood before the main entrance to Katara's suite. He took a moment to straighten his vest. He carefully brushed the silken sash belting his ebony pants, aligning the vest's opening carefully with his sternum and navel.

Satisfied with his appearance, he rapped sharply on her door. It slowly opened. Katara held it in place, open just enough to poke her face through the door.

"Yes?" she asked.

"I need to speak to you privately for a moment," he said. He tried to step forward into her sitting room, but she held the door firm.

"Here? Now?" she raised her eyebrows.

_Of course here and now! I wouldn't be here if I didn't need to speak to you here and now!_ He was getting annoyed, and it showed.

"Yes, here and now."

"Then you'll have to give me a moment," she answered. "You can wait here, I guess." She opened her door and gestured at one of the chairs clustered around a low table.

She disappeared within her bedroom for a moment. Not being used to being instructed to sit within his own palace, he chose to stand. When she returned, her free-flowing locks had been bound in a neat braid that extended to the middle of her back.

"There was something I needed to tell you, as well," she said as she took a seat. Zuko realized she had absolutely no training in court behavior. He made a mental note to correct that before she made a critical error in public.

_Telling me to sit! Sitting in my presence without permission! I can't have her doing that in front of witnesses! _

"Let me get this out now," he started, "while the opportunity is still good." She gestured to him to continue. "The last thing Aang told me, after the light faded from his eyes, was, 'Zuko, you're a powerful firebender. Protect Katara.'"

Zuko could see the wheels turning in Katara's mind. She mouthed something to herself as if trying to get what Zuko had just told her to sink in. He was able to make out, "light faded."

Before she could speak, he stopped her, "It's a shame. My military doesn't appreciate Aang's sacrifice. If the fall hadn't killed him, I think they would have. An infant waterbending Avatar would be an easy target." He sent Katara a meaningful glance.

_Understand me, Katara. There is a new Avatar and that child's only defense is that the world believes they don't exist. _

As if she could hear his thoughts, she nodded very slightly. "I didn't realize you were so attached to Aang," she said.

"Your faith was well-placed. He was a great leader and he gave his life to end the war. Your people weren't the only ones dying. Mine were, too. I would give anything to be able to protect the Avatar," he chose the last sentence very carefully.

"I have sent Jee back to the Southern Water Tribe. One of our sages is helping to restore the libraries in your Water Temple, and Ambassador Iroh is staying with your tribe. Both need support. With you here, we can coordinate military support for the South Pole."

Katara remained quiet, as Zuko expected. He knew she would understand his meaning, would agree with his goals to protect the Avatar, and she could certainly be trusted to guard this secret on her death bed. She may have been born a Water Tribe peasant, but she was smart and clever.

"Now," he said, "what did you want to tell me?"

"Nothing," she answered. "It's not important."

* * *

Katara sat on her chair for a long time after Zuko left. Her mind was in turmoil. If nothing else, dinner had proven that she was far out of her league in the Fire Lord's court. The glares, the giggles, the acidic comments... Hand to hand combat, she could handle, but this was an entirely different breed of warfare.

On the other hand was the possibility that the Avatar had been reborn. Zuko had no reason to lie. If she had understood his meaning, and she was sure she had, the Avatar Cycle was unbroken, and somewhere within the Water Tribe, the new Avatar was defenseless against a vindictive mob.

Then, a terrifying thought struck her. What if the Avatar died before it got a chance to live? What if she was stillborn? Katara wiped a tear before it rolled down her cheek.

On the likelihood that the Avatar was not her daughter, the child she had failed to give life to, she knew what she had to do. She would stay. She would stay and help Zuko protect the new Avatar.

* * *

The ice stretched for miles behind him. Shyu adjusted the pack on his back as he climbed the stairs to the Southern Water Temple. At the entrance, a grey-haired man appeared, one arm curled protectively around a toddler girl sitting on his hip.

The old waterbender didn't move as Shyu and his entourage approached. Both the old man and the little girl bore the distinct dark skin of the Water Tribe, and though the man's hair had faded to grey, Shyu knew it must have once been the same brown that was sprouting from the girl's head in downy tufts. What was surprising was that even though the man had Water Tribe-blue eyes, the girl's were unmistakably Fire Nation-copper.

"What do you want, Fire Sage?" the old man stared at Shyu.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: the Last Airbender.

* * *

**Firewater Rose Arc 2 Chapter 4**

Akaj paced feverishly from one end of his plush, expensive rug to the other, wringing his hands as he went. Behind him, his daughter sat quietly, unmoving, on the silk-upholstered divan. Her curly black locks tumbled down from her head and over her white shoulders. Her delicate hands sat clasped in her lap. Akaj would have to look closely to know if she was even breathing, not that he would. As long as she looked pretty and did as she was told, he could care less.

_Where is he? Doesn't that fool understand what's riding on this? If he screws it up, so help me Agni...  
_

At that moment, someone cleared their throat behind him. He turned around. If Izala was surprised to find a guest suddenly in their room, she was a good girl and kept her face blank.

_She's too stupid to notice, anyway.  
_

"It's about time!" Akaj glared at the new arrival. The young man said nothing. He was a cool customer. If the man had been born in the Fire Nation, and had there not been a male heir to the Fire Throne, Akaj would be willing to give Izala to this man in exchange for a business partnership. The man was just that clever. But he was neither Fire Nation, nor royalty, as evidenced by his persistent habit of chewing on a blade of hay.

"Your men, where are they?" Akaj demanded.

"Right where they need to be," his associate answered. The man's deliberate vagueness and refusal to give specifics annoyed Akaj, but there was nothing he could do about it.

"They know what to do?" Akaj narrowed his eyes.

"Have they screwed up yet?" the other man was getting tired of the questions. "Yeah, whatever. They attack any wagon not bearing this symbol," he gestured to a parchment that carefully detailed a shield emblazoned with a flame. The flame was an altered version of the Fire Nation insignia - an additional spark of fire had been added. Below the insignia, times, dates, and lists of goods were detailed. Goods not protected by the insignia.

"Who is it, some friend of yours?" the rogue asked.

"Answer my questions directly, and I'll think about answering yours," Akaj challenged him. When the man nodded, Akaj continued, "You just be sure your people in the Earth Kingdom let these wagons pass unmolested."

Akaj dismissed his guest with a wave of his hand. He stared out his sitting room window for a moment, lost in his plans and schemes. The pieces of his little Pai Sho game were in motion. He may have to sacrifice some, like his associate or his daughter, to win his game, or, to be more accurate, to win his crown. They were irrelevant, though. The important thing was that the Fire Lord was caught in the center of the game and wasn't aware that it was even being played.

His daughter's soft voice jolted him out of his reverie.

"Father, do we have to..." she started. She was always complaining. Something she had inherited from her mother. If he hadn't thought having a daughter might be useful someday, he'd have gotten rid of her at the same time he'd rid himself of his wife. So far, he stood to gain far more by keeping her around.

"Princess," he said, concealing his annoyance behind a soothing tone, "I do all of this for you! Every wagon of ours that gets past our friend's people is one more reason for the Fire Lord to choose you for his wife!"

"But what if..." Dear Agni, the child was hopeless. She was probably harboring the same ill-advised hope for love that her mother had once held.

"No buts!" he yelled. She shrank away from him, eyes wide in fright. He resumed his calm, quiet demeanor. "Princess, all my life I have dreamed of seeing you on the throne. I have worked myself to the bone to be indispensable to the Fire Lord, and this is how you thank me? Questions and doubts?"

She sat up a little straighter, apology written all over her face.

"That's better, Princess," he soothed. Then his voice went cold and hard as the marble floor beneath their feet, "You will be Fire Lady, and you will not argue with me again."

* * *

Jet slid carefully away from his position below Akaj's window sill. 

_So that's your game. OK, old man. You'll get your pretty daughter on the throne, and I'll bring you and your entire damned nation to your knees!

* * *

_

The next day, Zuko found himself walking a fine line between his trusted economic advisor, and Katara. Providing Katara, and thus, Shyu, with the needed support without uncovering the truth about the new Avatar was a lot more difficult than he expected. He should have known Akaj would have noticed something like an entire shipment of wood, bolts of cloth, and other menial items being prepared for departure. It was taking all of his restraint not to stand up and bellow in the man's face that this was an order, and he damn well better do it.

"My Lord! That's just impossible!" Akaj protested. "We don't have the reserves!"

Zuko lifted his head up out of his hands. "We got a shipment from the Earth Kingdom last week."

"That's just not possible, my Lord. We did not order..." Akaj spluttered. He was clearly accustomed to knowing every minute detail of supply movement within the Fire Nation.

"It was a gift from King Bumi. Just redirect it to the Southern Water Tribe. The pallets are warehoused in the harbor now."

"But our own people," Akaj continued his protest.

"Don't need firewood as badly as the Southern Water Tribe," Zuko finished his sentence for him.

It was then that Katara spoke up. "My people aren't prepared to accommodate so many soldiers. They have to have these supplies or Fire Nation troops are going to suffer right along with the Water Tribe." She had remained quiet throughout the annoying little bureaucrat's protestations. She started off the discussion standing with her arms at her sides, then her arms had crossed, her brow had furrowed, and now she was impatiently tapping her left foot.

_I really need to get her started on those court lessons_, Zuko reminded himself.

Akaj wasn't about to be put in his place by a Water Tribe woman. "Our own people need the wood, my Lord, and their troops. Perhaps if I understood the need for our military to defend a bunch of Water Tribe p..." Zuko turned his head sharply and glared a warning at Akaj. The man had reached the end of Zuko's patience. Katara merely raised an eyebrow, challenging him to call her a peasant. "People," Akaj opted for a less-offensive word.

"This is my peace treaty with the Water Tribe," Zuko stated resolutely. "These are the terms. You are my economic advisor, not my military advisor, and you set policy for neither. Remember that."

Katara continued on with her list of needs, not only for her people, but for Shyu and the Fire Nation troops that would be stationed at the South Pole. "They will also need some papyrus and ink to properly... catalogue the missing volumes from the Temple library," She looked Zuko directly in the eye, and he caught her meaning.

"Done," was all Zuko said. Akaj spluttered in frustration.

Zuko decided that his patience with his economist had worn completely through. "Thank you for your time, Akaj. I will need your advice again tomorrow morning, one hour after sunrise," he dismissed the man before turning to the Ambassador. "Katara, would you join me for dinner in my dining room?"

Akaj was just exiting the audience chamber when Zuko issued the invitation. He shot an icy glare at Katara, who replied, "Sure..."

"Very well. I'll have a servant to bring you to my private quarters in half an hour."

Katara blushed, which brought a smile to Zuko's lips. Clearly she had not known the invitation was to a private dinner. Zuko was looking forward to a dinner highlighted with intelligent conversation, and devoid of stupid, coy games.

* * *

Akaj, of course, had known exactly what the Fire Lord had meant by inviting the Ambassador to, "his," dining room instead of, "the," dining room. Outside the doors of the audience chamber, Akaj simmered.

_Damn waterbender. I may have to do something about her sooner rather than later._

* * *

Zuko's personal dining table was a small one, just large enough for four people at most. It was flanked on all four sides by heavy cushions embroidered in reds and golds. The dark wood was coated in several layers of varnish that reflected the orange and yellow of the candlelight. 

He gestured for her to take her seat on one cushion. While she settled her robes around her, he sat on the cushion facing her. A woman bustled in with plates and utensils. Her uniform identified her as one of Zuko's personal maids. Her brown hair was pulled-back in a neat bun. When she turned, Katara noticed an angry red scar that began somewhere behind the woman's right ear before sloping down her neck toward the middle of her collar bone. Katara averted her eyes before the woman could notice her staring.

The maid carefully laid their service out on the table. An elegant china plate with silver cutlery was placed in front of each of them. Katara smiled up at her, catching the maid's eye just long enough to thank her before the woman bobbed a curtsy and left the room.

"I hope I didn't cause any trouble back there," she said.

"Akaj? That's no trouble. He's just paranoid about losing his position on my advisory committee. They're all like that. He'll calm down in a few days," Zuko reassured her.

"I can't tell you how much I... I mean... we... appreciate your help. You shouldn't put your own people out, though," she cautioned.

"The right thing to do isn't always the easy thing to do."

"And if your people see the things they need being diverted to the Water Tribe? Encouraging anger isn't the right thing to do, either."

Zuko was caught off-guard by that idea. "What do you suggest?"

The door opened again, this time, for the kitchen staff. Two silver services were carried in and placed in front of the pair. Katara held her response until their meals had been properly served and the servants had gone back out the door they had come in through.

"The Water Tribe is good at a few things. Making fishing boats, fishing equipment - you can't fail with a Water Tribe net," she offered.

"A trade, then?" Zuko raised his eyebrow to her as his first fork-full of food hovered in front of his mouth.

"A trade," she agreed.

Each turned their attention to the meal in front of them. The Fire Nation used a lot of spices and sauces that Katara had never encountered before. Each meal since her arrival had been a novel adventure. Some were very spicy, others were rich in flavors Katara couldn't define. This meal appeared to be some kind of flame-seared steak covered in a thick, sweet sauce. The vegetables, at least, were familiar, though they had been given similar treatment by the cook. Carrots and broccoli instead of the teeny ears of corn.

"How has the Water Tribe taken to peace?" Zuko interrupted her analysis of Fire Nation cuisine.

Katara had to think a moment for the right answer, and decided that honesty was probably the best course. "They don't really notice much of a difference. They don't trust it. Sokka still stands on that damn wall all day. To be honest, the first thing I did when Sokka shouted that a Fire Navy ship was approaching was to prepare for an attack. The others are all still living in huts because they don't see a point in building a city just to have the Fire Nation blow it apart."

Zuko's face remained blank. If he had any reaction to knowing that his people weren't trusted by the Water Tribe, he didn't give her any hints what it might be.

"They trust Iroh, though, if only because Sokka does. What about you? What have you been up to?" she put the ball back in his court.

He chuckled. "I have been trying to decide if politics is more like dancing, or war. There are a lot of verbal attacks, of course, but there are also plenty of twists and turns. If I don't stay on my toes, I'm going to find myself married to some halfwit who thinks that Omashu is the latest Earth Kingdom footwear fashion."

Katara laughed, glad for his lighthearted attitude. "Is it really that bad? Can't you just tell them to leave you alone the way you told Akaj? You're the Fire Lord..."

"I'd be telling them all to leave me alone. Nearly every member of my court has at least one daughter of marrying age."

"What is marrying age in the Fire Nation?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Seventeen to twenty for boys, twelve to fifteen for girls," his voice sounded very tired.

"And you are...?"

"Eighteen in three months. You?"

"Sixteen. I guess that makes me an old maid," she laughed again, this time with a nervous edge.

"How come you haven't gotten married?" he prodded.

What was left of Katara's smile faded from her face. "Spoiled goods, remember?"

Zuko's eyes hardened.

"Why me?" she asked.

He said nothing for a moment, studying her as if she had just asked him to teach her to firebend. "Sometimes bad things happen..." he started to say.

"No, I mean, why did you ask for me?" she corrected him. A smile of relief crossed his face.

"I can talk to my uncle openly about anything and know that he doesn't want my throne. I know he will give me his honest opinion, even if I don't want to hear it. He was the only person in my court I could count on. He was also the only person I could entrust with the mission to the South Pole. His leaving left a void no one here could fill. You are the only one I know who could."

"My Lord," Her voice was filled with astonishment, "I don't know what to say."

"You don't need to say anything. When Uncle and I are alone, he calls me, 'Zuko.' I would appreciate it if you did the same."

"OK, Zuko, mind if I ask you a question?" she tilted her head to the left ever so slightly.

"Anything you want to know," he extended his hands to either side in a gesture of openness.

"Why did you keep that plate? It's dingy and dented and..."

"And it reminds me of my greatest lesson in humility. It's easy to forget humility when people line up to bow at your feet every day. Sometimes, I need to be reminded that a Fire Lord can bow to a peasant."

* * *

The last three weeks had slowly restored Shyu's faith. Faith in the world, faith in humanity, and faith in the secret that the Fire Lord had passed on to him. Pakku had accepted Shyu's presence and help guardedly at first. Time, exposure to each other, and Shyu's genuine interest in restoring the Southern Water Temple had given them a more solid base to build trust upon. Now, the two aging bending masters sat at a table in an old Water Sage apartment near the sanctuary, sharing a pot of tea.

The little girl was entertaining herself with a basin of water. This alone wasn't unusual. Most children find the texture and fluidity of water to be an endless source of amusement. What was unusual was that she was playing with it, but without touching it. She held her hand above the surface and made a circling motion until the water in the basin did the same, forming a small whirlpool. Suddenly she would reverse the motion and break out in fits of laughter as the water swirled back upon itself.

"How long has she been doing that?" Shyu asked.

Pakku paused, his steaming teacup nearly touching his bottom lip. "Nearly all her life."

"Very interesting. Firebending ability doesn't usually manifest until the child is a few years old. When does waterbending talent become evident?"

Pakku took a sip and set the cup down on the table. "She is very young to be bending water, consciously or subconsciously." He studied his guest carefully for a moment. "You're not here to rebuild the library."

Shyu was taken aback by Pakku's sudden insight. Desperately, he sought some kind of cover, but found none. "Of course that's why I'm here! The Fire Lord wishes to restore..."

Pakku waved a hand dismissively at Shyu. "I heard you the first time you said that. I've lived too long to be a complete fool, Shyu. I know your real reason for coming. You were known to me before you arrived. You are the sage that enabled Avatar Aang to meet Avatar Roku. Honestly, I'm surprised Ozai didn't kill you..."

"How did you know that?" Shyu was surprised.

"Who do you think it was who began Aang's waterbending training?" Pakku raised an eyebrow at Shyu. "I did. The greatest student I ever taught finished his waterbending instruction. And when she gave birth to this child, I received a vision. There were no Sages here to find her, protect her, guide her, so the vision came to me. And now you have come, sent by the last person to see Avatar Aang alive. You have brought the testing instruments, haven't you?"

"I will discuss my mission with you only if you answer this question. Why do you stay here, alone, with this child?" Shyu narrowed his eyes slightly. Pakku's answer could either solidify their trust, or force Shyu to break it down.

"As I said, her mother was my greatest student, Katara. Katara's mother, Kaya, should have been my daughter. Kaya's mother is the only woman I've ever loved. Her name is Kanna. It was my Kanna that asked me to take this child and protect her, and raise her."

Pakku maintained an even tone throughout his revelation. If anything, the man sounded tired, Shyu thought. Years of concealing his own true attitude from his fellow sages had made Shyu quite talented at detecting a lie, and there was none in Pakku's voice, eyes, or body language.

"And you named this child after her?" he asked.

Pakku nodded. The two of them looked over to where the child in question had found a new game to play with water - a basic water spout.

"Very well," Shyu said. "Little Kanna is to be tested." He pulled a rolled-up piece of felt cloth from the pockets of his robe. He placed it on the table and unrolled it, revealing four old, well-loved toys. "Soon, but not now."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: the Last Airbender

* * *

**Firewater Rose Arc 2 Chapter 5**

The morning air was crisp and cool on his bare chest. A faint mist hung in the air, a harbinger of the humidity that would beset the city in a few hours. It was the best time of day to practice firebending, and likely the only time that the Fire Lord would be left on his own long enough to accomplish anything with his training.

He walked briskly past the stuffy training rooms to his goal. It was a small garden, abundant in green plants and native flowers. On the far side of the garden, a spring-fed pond burbled year-round. The cool waters were home to koi, frogs and turtleducks of all descriptions. Its open air suited his desire for a moment of freedom, and the easy access to water was very practical.

He stopped at the glass doors that led to the garden. Someone else had the same idea to practice bending there, and she had beaten him to it. He watched through the glass for a few moments. He was quickly mesmerized by the fluidity of her movements and the way the water flowed with her whim. It was like watching a ribbon-dancer in motion. It was easily the most beautiful thing in the garden.

He opened one of the doors slowly, careful not to let it squeak or alert her to his presence, and snuck out into the garden for a closer look. He remembered something his uncle once told him, about learning from the other elements. Quietly, he stepped into the pond, ignoring the chill on his skin as his silk breeches soaked through up to his thigh. She continued, now bending the water in a circular track between them.

Without a word, he began mimicking her movements. They were circular and rhythmic, and they flowed from one to another with the ease of a river rounding a bend. After a few repetitions, he focused on his breathing, calling forth his energy, his passion, to form a ball of flame in his palm. In one flowing move, he sent the ball of flame after the water streamer.

He lost track of how long he stood in the pond, facing Katara. Fire chased water and water chased fire until the sun peaked over the horizon. When the golden rays began reflecting off the surface of the pond, the two benders released their elements into the pond with a splash and a hiss of steam.

It was then that he realized he was standing in a pond with Katara, and she was in her underclothes. Embarassed, he turned away as she climbed out of the pond.

"Those look like waterbending moves," she said, either ignorant of her state of undress, or not caring.

"They are, sort-of," Zuko stammered, "Uncle once taught me that understanding the other elements and the other nations would make me stronger. He taught me a technique to redirect lightning that he created based on his observations of waterbending."

"I never would have thought of that," she said. Zuko heard something rustling behind him, coming from her general direction. He decided she must have put her robe on, so he turned around. He was right.

"I wouldn't have, either."

Katara was silent for a few seconds, her eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Would you be willing to teach me some firebending moves? Maybe if waterbending can be applied by firebenders, firebending..."

"Can be applied by waterbenders," Zuko finished for her. "Tomorrow morning, same time?"

"It's a date," Katara winked.

Zuko didn't know whether or not to hope for her to attend in her underwear again.

* * *

Her wardrobe stood nearly empty. Its entire contents had been emptied into three separate piles: Not a Chance, Maybe and Definitely. She hadn't done the emptying or the sorting, though. Her father had done it, personally. Izala was sitting quietly at her vanity, her face demurely downcast, staring at her hands again.

Her father had been beside himself after yesterday's audience, and he hadn't told her why. She was too afraid to ask, but she knew it must have something to do with the Water Tribe Ambassador. The last few weeks since the woman's arrival had been nearly as terrifying for Izala as when her mother died. Akaj had been in a nearly constant fit of pique since the moment she entered the Palace.

Finally, her father stopped throwing clothes around. He held in his right hand a black silk robe with red trim and large golden phoenixes embroidered on the draping sleeves. Izala hated that robe because it required a particular black corset that she despised wearing. That corset made her itch. She said nothing though, when her father thrust the robe in her face. She accepted the garment without looking up.

"What jewels were you planning to wear?" he sneered at her.

She held out a black velvet-lined tray bearing a pair of small golden hoops and a choker of rubies set in gold. She braced herself for a blow she knew would come at any moment.

"Unacceptable!" he screamed. With one swipe, he knocked the tray out of her hands, sending the earrings and choker flying across the room.

She jumped away from the vanity before he could shove her out of his way. He pulled each jewelry drawer completely out of the vanity, sending more precious stones to the floor. Finally, he selected a pair of earrings that looked more like chandeliers to Izala, then he set about looking for a necklace. She was horrified at his choice in necklaces - it was a piece so scandalous, she had refused to ever wear it. It was a pearl-drop necklace on a chain so long that the pearl would sit just inside her cleavage in the robes he had selected.

She accepted the earrings and the necklace without argument, hoping he would leave her be if she didn't argue. She was right. With a simple admonition to be ready for court in thirty minutes, he left her alone with the destruction he had brought on her chambers, and with her thoughts.

She knew what he wanted of her. He made that very clear. She had spent her entire life trying to avoid his wrath by avoiding his attention. She never spoke unless he spoke to her, she never brought friends over, never asked for anything, always quietly did exactly as he demanded. Now, after a lifetime of avoiding attention, she had become quite comfortable in her anonymity.

The thought of being forced into the spotlight was almost as terrifying as his temper. If his little ruses actually worked, not only would she be the perpetual focus of his attention, but of an entire nation!

She had no time to waste this morning on her own wishes beyond survival. No time to daydream about her peasant in shining armor that would whisk her away to a life of anonymity where her father would never find her. She exhaled as much as her lungs would allow, and tightened the corset around her chest. She thought it must be oddly similar to tying a noose around her neck.

* * *

The market in Kuang-feng was the largest market Katara had ever seen. It stretched on as far as she could see in either direction, on more streets than she would have time to visit in a day. Bright cotton banners hung over the streets advertising the fascinating items to be purchased at each stall. The street she was on was known as the Row of Bolts. Originally, she thought they were referring to hardware, but the bolts were bolts of cloth.

She moved from one cloth merchant to another, holding her robes up so that they didn't drag on the ground. The launderers at the palace already had enough to do, and they probably wouldn't be very happy with the wet silk breeches that Zuko had most likely given them to wash.

She found a bolt of silk in a lovely blue-green. When she pulled the cloth back to read the price, she grimaced. She would have never considered spending that kind of money on herself back home. It wasn't a king's ransom, but it was certainly a peasant's ransom. She cleared her conscience by deciding to put her own sewing talent to use to make something for the children of her housekeeping staff from the remnants.

She continued through the market, bundled silks under one arm. She was taking mental notes on things her people had a need or even just a potential use for. Everything from food, to building supplies, to new art forms went into her mental file.

Then she began noticing a strange phenomenon. As she approached some of the shops, the neatly-worded pricing signs would disappear and be replaced by hastily-written signs with significantly higher prices. Most of the time, the switch was made when she wasn't looking, but some of the more brazen merchants had the gall to do it while she was looking at their wares.

"Wait a minute! The price was 20 copper not 5 seconds ago!" Katara protested over a stand of tomatoes. "Why is it 30 copper now?"

The merchant glared at her. "Inflation, miss. You can't stand here if yer not buyin', so either shell-out, or move along."

Katara's mouth opened for a biting, witty retort, but she was silenced by a scream a few stalls away. There was a crowd creating quite a commotion in front of the cabbage stand. She made out the forms of two men dressed in the traditional browns and greens of the Earth Kingdom. One of them was easily six-and-a-half feet tall and at least 400 pounds, but with his back turned to her, that was all she could make out.

In the center of the group, a woman was shoved to the ground. Several pairs of hands descended on her, groping at her clothing. Katara didn't take any time to think. She shoved her bundle of silks into the hands of a young boy standing next to her at the tomato stand, along with a silver piece and instructions to hold onto the cloth for her.

By this time the only people left on the market street were the thugs, their victim, and Katara. Stalls were boarded-up, customers either had fled to the adjacent streets, or had managed to duck inside a stall with the owner.

"Hello there, boys. You weren't planning to leave me out of the fun, were you?" Katara uncorked her waterskin and pulled out a waterwhip in one fluid movement.

At that moment, the large thug that had been blocking Katara's view turned around, and she recognized him immediately. "Well, well, well. Lookie who we have here, boys. Jet's old girlfriend. I'm sure he won't mind if she joins in."

With that, Pipsqueak charged Katara. She sidestepped him easily enough, lashing the waterwhip around his legs as he ran past. She froze the whip just long enough to trip him before releasing his ankles, sending him hurtling headlong into the tomato cart.

One of the other miscreants stepped forward. "Pipsqueak?" he called. The giant didn't answer. The thug flicked his wrists, revealing a pair of daggers. With a primal roar, he threw one of them at Katara, hurtling the blade through the air so fast she almost didn't see it. It caught the sleeve of her robe, ripping it in passing.

She lashed the waterwhip at her new opponent. He was fast, but she was faster. The whip caught him square on the chin, throwing him up against one of the support posts for the stall overhangs, knocking him out.

The third assailant stood up to face her, brandishing a longsword. He rushed her with the longsword and she dodged it, twisting around behind him. She didn't notice the dagger in his other hand until it was buried in her right thigh.

Before he had a chance to withdraw the dagger, the waterwhip was around his neck. She froze the whip, causing the water to expand and restrict his airway. She held him like that until he passed-out from lack of oxygen.

She pulled the waterwhip back into a ball hovering over the palm of her hand, then turned to stare at the fourth attacker, but he had disappeared. Katara limped over to their intended victim and held out her hand to the wide-eyed girl. When she turned, Katara noticed a scar on the side of her neck.

_Zuko's maid..._

"Thank you..." the woman stuttered.

"Not a problem," Katara winced through the pain in her right thigh.

"You really ought to remove that knife," the maid said.

"No," Katara grimaced, "I need to get back to the palace and let the physicians help me heal it. There's a huge vein that runs through that leg, if it's severed, I'll need their help to fix it before I bleed out, and I don't feel like waiting around here to find out if there are more of those thugs. As long as the knife's in, if that vein is severed, it'll act as a stopper for the blood loss. Help me get back to the palace?"

"Of course, Ambassador!"

"Call me Katara. What should I call you?"

"Kazi," the woman answered, smiling.

"Oh! I almost forgot! My silks!" Katara exclaimed.

From behind the shambles of the tomato cart, the boy emerged, awestruck. He handed Katara her package, his jaw dangling too far below the rest of his face to attempt anything like speech. Kazi wrapped Katara's right arm around her shoulder, and together, the Ambassador and the maid hobbled back to the palace.

* * *

Kazi knew the summons would come eventually, and she was dreading it. It came much sooner than she expected. It came that very evening, the evening after the Ambassador had rescued her from a very cruel fate in the market place. Now she was standing in a sitting room. She was used to having to stand when everyone else was sitting, that didn't bother her. What bothered her was that she had had to find some excuse to slip away from her duties at the palace to stand in this man's sitting room. She always felt compelled to take a bath after speaking to him.

"I'm so glad you could join me this evening, Kazi," Akaj smiled at her, "Tell me, how is your mother faring? I trust the house is not too drafty for her condition?"

"No, my lord, it's quite solid. She asked me to thank you for your," Kazi nearly choked, "generosity."

"Oh, dear," Akaj voice dripped with fake concern, "you're not coming down with the same affliction that your mother has, are you?"

"No, sir. Just a tad thirsty is all."

"I'm glad to hear that. I need information from you. The Fire Lord did something unexpected yesterday and invited the waterwitch to dinner in his suite. I need to know what was said."

Kazi knew he would ask about that. So many things had been said that night. Most of Zuko's personal staff made themselves scarce, but she had known she would be questioned, so she had listened outside the door. In just the bits and pieces she overheard, she knew that the Ambassador had some kind of interesting history with the Fire Lord, something very personal. If the bastard in front of her knew what she had heard, it would certainly mean the end of the Ambassador's life.

"They talked about trade. Trade between the Fire Nation and the Water Tribe."

"Trade?" Akaj arched on eyebrow, "Trade in what? Whale teeth?"

"Fishing boats... fishing nets... That's all for now, I think."

Akaj rubbed his chin. "A Fire Lord doesn't spend his entire meal discussing fishing. What else did they speak of?" he demanded.

"Things from their past," Kazi tried to think. Something that would take the pressure off of her without telling the man too much, "I think he knew her from somewhere before, but they were vague."

"No places? No dates?"

"No, sir."

"Thank you," he said icily, "You may return to the palace. I will summon you again when I need you. Consider your mother's rent paid for the week."

* * *

After the girl left, Akaj went to his office. He pulled out an ink blotter and a few sheets of parchment. He hastily scrawled two missives to parties not identified in the letters, and left them unsigned. He rolled each parchment up one at a time, dripping hot wax to seal them. He pulled a signet ring out of a hidden compartment in the top drawer of his desk - a borrowed signet that would lead the Fire Lord to one of Akaj's many rivals - and impressed it in the hot wax.

_Time for a little game of sabotage, Ambassador. Next time, you'll remember your place._


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: the Last Airbender

* * *

**Firewater Rose Arc 2 Chapter 6**

Water is a deceptive element. Its calm, still surface can harbor tremendous turmoil. The delicate streamer of water floating around Katara was no different. Soothing and tranquil in its elegant dance-like motion, it concealed the frustration of its bender.

Katara was half-way through her third week of studying with Zuko. They had no idea when they started out what might happen when she applied firebending techniques to water. It could have been something very explosive, but so far, it had been absolutely nothing.

_Maybe I'm wasting my time! _

Zuko glanced over his shoulder in the middle of a basic move. The lecture began. Katara had heard it so many times, she could probably give it herself.

"Firebending is about passion and determination," Zuko calmly reminded her, "Breathing regulates the fire. Channel your passion to your fingertips, let it fuel the fire."

"I'm trying! It's not working!" with an exasperated scream Katara flung the waterwhip against a tree trunk, gaining some satisfaction as it broke into a thousand drops and rained down on the ground.

Zuko was unaffected by her display. "Breathe. I can't teach you if you won't be patient. Firebending requires discipline, self-control. You're not going to get it right away."

Katara slumped against the tree. "I've been working on these stupid moves for weeks! How much more patient do I have to be?"

"Stand up straight," he instructed. When she reluctantly stood, he stepped around behind her. He wrapped one well-toned arm around her waist. She involuntarily straightened her back at the contact. All thoughts of argument and frustration fled her mind as her world narrowed to the arm around her, and the warm breath on her right ear. Everything else was forgotten.

"Breathe, Katara," he gently reminded her.

_Stupid_, she chided herself. It wasn't as if he'd never been that close to her. _Damn, he's warm! _ Try as she might, her own thoughts had spiraled beyond her control. A heady mixture of pleasure and terror flooded her body with each and every movement he made.

He released her waist and gently grabbed each of her wrists. She marveled at how large his hands seemed next to hers. He could almost hold both of her wrists with one hand. He smoothly pulled both of her arms up until they were extended out to either side. Then he guided her body through a series of firebending maneuvers designed to relax the mind and loosen the body. Katara had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn't going to work this morning.

* * *

He squashed a bug under his shoe, careful not to rustle the leaves surrounding him and his companions. They were bloody nuisances, crawling up his legs, tickling him when he was trying so hard to stand perfectly still. The wind rustling through the trees caused the leaves behind him to tickle the back of his neck. He fought hard to resist the urge to swat them out of his way. Any sound could give away his position.

_Why are they just standing there? _

The brigands were getting frustrated. For the last hour their target had remained two hundred yards down the trade road, at least a hundred and fifty yards out of their range. It was a small wagon, but richly decorated. It was accompanied by three burly guards and a young woman. Without warning, the girl signaled the driver to pull the wagon to the far right side of the road.

A few minutes later, another wagon rumbled into view. He examined the emblem on the side of the cart. He would let this one pass. Rich as it was, that wagon was off-limits, and Jet would have his head on a pike if he tried to take it.

The first wagon's guards watched as the second rolled down the road. The girl waved her hand forward, and their target began moving. A hundred and fifty yards. A hundred yards. Fifty yards...

The girl stopped, her eyes flashed wide open. She was close enough now he could see her more clearly. Something wasn't right with this girl. Her eyes...

"Look alive, dirtbags!" she challenged.

The next thing he knew, the ground underneath him surged up and he was flying through the air. He landed at her feet and glanced up into her milky white eyes.

_I just got beaten by a blind girl! _

That was the last thing that went through Pipsqueak's mind as he was knocked unconscious for the second time in as many months.

* * *

For three days he'd been floating at sea. Three days without fresh water does terrible things to a man, even a man as conditioned to harsh elements as he was. Three days in the sun does horrible things, too, even to a man whose skin was used to the sun. He was beginning to think he was losing his mind.

He knew he'd lost his mind when a giant whale pulled up along side him and began talking to him. It told him to hold still. It asked him his name. He supposed that both were very reasonable things for a whale to say. When the whale asked him to scratch behind its ear, he decided the whale was crazy, too, and promptly passed out.

His rescuers were glad for it. They had a much easier time getting Sokka in the boat when he was unconscious. In under an hour, their ship was under way to the South Pole again, leaving the remains of the sunken Water Tribe vessel in its wake.

* * *

If business continued to be this profitable, Jet was going to have to find himself a bigger hideout. The shelter was the biggest one they had, wrapped around the biggest tree in his aerial compound, and stuff was going to start rolling out of it soon. He pictured some of the expensive wares they'd captured littering the forest floor below.

_Wouldn't that be a dead giveaway! _

For a freedom fighter, he'd made a darn good living for himself as a pirate. Technically, he hadn't started out that way because you really have to be a sea-going thief to be a pirate. He deftly tossed a disk embossed with the Water Tribe symbol up in the air. It flipped over a few times before he caught it in his nimble fingers. Now, he could call himself a pirate in the truest sense of the word.

Jet deposited his heavy fur-lined cloak on a thick Cherrymaple-wood chair. It had kept him comfortable in the cold southern reaches of the ocean, and it kept the sea spray out of his clothing, but it was much too warm for the Earth Kingdom.

Gathered around him, his rag-tag assembly of officers were waiting for news of their latest conquest. They had all stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him through the hard times during the war. At one time or another, every one of them had laid their lives on the line for him, and he had risked his own life at least once for every one of them.

"Today, my friends," he intoned, "we have struck another blow to the traitors of freedom!"

A resounding cheer echoed off the thick hide walls.

"The Water Tribe should be more careful about who their friends are! One by one, ship by ship, our brave comrades will take them down and free the world from the Fire Nation and its alliance of evil!"

The cheering was punctuated by jeers and shouted insults to the Water Tribe. The din dropped in volume when Jet spoke again.

"The Fire Nation thinks that the war is over," he said, his voice as smooth as a poisoned blade, "They think they can continue to exist as if the last century never happened. They're wrong." His voice rose in volume, booming throughout the compound, "And we're going to make them pay!"

The cheering rose to a fevered pitch. Weapons were drawn and thrust into the air. Jet smiled.

_Yes, we're going to make them pay...  
_

The meeting was over. Officers were suitably motivated. Morale was adequately raised. The others were filtering out of the enclosure, but two remained behind, presumably to speak to Jet. They approached him carefully, almost fearfully.

"Got away?" Jet roared. Pipsqueak and Smellerbee backed away from him. He lowered his tone, "How, exactly, did they get away?"

* * *

Katara fretted. The first shipment from the Southern Water Tribe was a week overdue, and to make matters worse, Sokka was supposed to be accompanying the shipment. She wanted to say something to Zuko, but it was just one shipment. A half a dozen shipments from the Earth Kingdom had never been delivered, or were in such poor condition that they had to be turned away.

Zuko and Akaj were, at that moment, putting their heads together, trying to puzzle out what had gone wrong. Katara didn't like Zuko's advisor at all. She wasn't sure if it was the tone of his voice, or the way he looked at her, but he reminded her too much of an eelfish. Slippery, slimy, and mean as the day is long - and winter days at the South Pole were very long, indeed.

"My Lord," Akaj said, "clearly, certain elements within the Earth Kingdom cannot be trusted to deliver as promised. As you recall, I warned..."

"I remember," Zuko stated quietly. "It seems you were right about Takaji clan. I have one other route..."

Zuko was cut off by the sound of the heavy doors being thrown open. Katara looked up in time to hear the new arrival say, "That's OK, sweet cakes, I can let myself in."

"Toph?" she asked.

"Yeah, Sugar Queen?"

Toph had grown quite a bit in the last year. While she wasn't as stocky as she had been, she was very sturdy. Her stance reminded Katara of a mountain - unyielding. She moved with the determination of the master earthbender that she was.

"Hey, Scorch," Toph approached the dais, arms folded across her chest, "I hear you're having a problem with dirtbags."

_i Scorch?_ /I Katara raised an eyebrow. Akaj straightened his shoulders and openly stared at Toph. Katara grinned to herself.

"What are you talking about?" Zuko was too puzzled by her comment to be offended by the use of her pet-name.

"You've got some shipments missing, right? Maybe... I know why."

"I'm listening."

Toph went on to give an interesting tale of her family's wagon being ambushed on the road. Katara noted that Akaj's eyes darkened with each sentence. There was more to this tale than she, Zuko, or Toph knew, Katara was certain of it. One thing bothered her. The second wagon - why wasn't it ambushed? Maybe the thugs wanted to catch one wagon alone, or maybe Toph's seemed like a better target. She put the question aside for a moment when she was able to devote more concentration to it.

"Oh, Zuko?" Toph had finished her story, "I got a note for you."

"From...?" Zuko's scowl had deepened as Toph's story went on.

"Some crazy old man. You may want to answer it. Then again, you may not."

Casually, as if she passed notes to monarchs every day, she flicked a rolled parchment up onto the dais. It landed neatly in Zuko's lap.

"Later!" Toph showed herself out of the audience chamber.

* * *

_To the Fire Lord who used to be the Banished Prince:_

_Your presence is requested at a diplomatic summit in Omashu to discuss the continuing struggles between the nations. The summit will begin in one month's time._

_Respectfully yours,_

_King Bumi_

_P.S._

_Bring a costume.

* * *

_

That night, over dinner, she was still puzzling-out the meaning behind the attack on Toph's wagon when Zuko made an interesting observation.

"You know," he smirked, "I think you're the first person to be addressed as, 'Queen,' in the audience chamber in over a century."

Katara fought to keep from smiling, and failed miserably.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: the Last Airbender

* * *

**Firewater Rose Arc 2 Chapter 7**

Even when it was very quiet in the palace, in the dark hours of the night, she could see all kinds of scuttling about with or without the light. Mostly it was the servants getting ready for the day, making sure everything was prepared before the nobles began their day. Not everyone up at that early hour was a servant, she noted, as she approached the public garden.

Katara's figure, familiar, yet strange, leaned against a second figure Toph knew. The second figure was equally as familiar and strange, but for entirely different reasons. The features were identical down to the very last detail, as was his pose - gazing at the far horizon, glider clasped firmly behind his back. Whereas the real Aang had been warm, soft and bright-eyed, this one was stone - cold, unchanging.

Katara let out a long sigh.

"You loved him, didn't you?" Toph's voice cut through the early morning silence.

Katara turned around to look at her friend. "I loved him. As a brother, or something else, I never got a chance to figure it out."

"It's enough to say that you did," Toph wasn't good at comforting. Softness just wasn't her strong suit, but the words sounded right to her.

A third voice broke through the morning air. "He loved you."

Katara quickly averted her eyes to stare at the ground as Zuko approached. She stood and took two steps toward the door.

"Don't go," he asked.

* * *

Zuko's stomach was slowly unclenching. He hadn't even noticed that his jaw had stiffened when Katara spoke about Aang. It had taken him all of two days after joining the trio to realize that the Avatar was in love, or at least, infatuated, with the waterbender. What he never could gauge was how she felt about Aang. Just the mention of her name brought about mixed reactions from both of the other boys.

If he asked them where she was, they would say that she had gone home. If he asked why, Aang's eyes would remain bright and say that she was just ill and would be well soon. Sokka's eyes, however, would darken but the Water Tribe warrior would never answer. There was something they never told him about Katara.. He decided that if it was important for him to know, they would tell him. Now that she was here, if it was important for him to know, she would have told him.

"I never thought I was saying goodbye to him forever," tears welled up in Katara's eyes. She sank down to the ground at the foot of the statue.

Toph settled on the ground next her, facing the statue. Zuko felt very awkward standing over the two young women, so he followed suit. He sat down facing Katara on the other side of Aang's stone likeness.

_Water, Earth, Fire_, Zuko glanced up Aang's face, _and Air.  
_

Katara began idly toying with a freshly planted rose at the base of the pedestal. It was a small bloom, just beginning to open up and reveal its wonders to the world. A deep blue that matched the color of the midnight ocean at the center of the flower faded through purple into a brilliant flame red at the edges of its petals.

"What kind of rose is this?" she looked to Zuko for an answer. Zuko realized he had none. These were his gardens, but this was the first time he'd seen that particular flower.

"The kind that grows," he offered. Toph laughed.

"They came in with us. Nutso sent them to you," Toph reminded him. "I don't know what they are, they're just... flowers."

"They're beautiful," Katara was still smiling at Toph's reference to King Bumi.

"What brought you out here?" he asked.

"I just needed... I dunno. I don't know what I needed. Sokka's missing," Katara answered.

"What? How!" Zuko demanded. Toph remained calm.

"He was supposed to deliver the first shipment from the South Pole over a week ago, and I haven't heard from him," Katara sounded relieved and tired.

"Relax, Sugar Queen. He's probably just taking a nap somewhere," Toph caught the death glare she was receiving from both sides. "Remember that time with the Saber-toothed Mooselion?"

Katara's face was blank. "The what?"

"Oh, yeah, right, that was after one of your fainting spells. Or were you throwing-up in the bushes? I forget, anyway, he was fine."

Fainting spells, vomiting... Zuko started adding things up in his head and mentally cursed himself for not seeing it before. He wasn't uneducated in the ways of the world. "Katara," he was afraid to ask the question, but he knew his conscience wouldn't let him be until he knew the answer, "why did you go back to the South Pole?"

A fleeting look of sheer, unmitigated horror passed over Katara's face. It was replaced by a cold calmness in the face, and pain in her eyes. She stood up, turned around, and walked off. He jumped to his feet to catch her.

Her hand was on the doorknob, and it was starting to turn when he put his hand on her arm. Gently, he pulled her around to face him. She seemed so small, trapped between him and the door. Her shoulders hunched over, she refused to look up even when he spoke her name. He placed his free hand under her chin and pulled her face up so he could see her eyes. Her cheeks were wet where the tears had already begun running down the side of her face.

He knew why she hadn't been there with the Avatar. He knew why her brother and Aang had sent her home. He knew why her brother had hated him long after the Avatar had forgiven him. He knew why no one had ever told him. He knew, and he wasn't going to make her say it. There was one thing he didn't know.

"Where is the child?" he whispered.

Katara pulled her chin away from him and turned to face the door.

"Katara?"

"She's dead." Katara opened the door and disappeared on the other side of it, leaving Zuko in stunned silence.

* * *

She got back to her room by the steel of her will alone. As soon as the door was latched behind her, she collapsed in an armchair, and let go. Tear after tear poured down, and she would be hard pressed to know which ones were for Aang, which ones were for Sokka, and which ones were for the daughter that had never even been given a name.

She was plucked out of her whirlpool of emotions by a soft voice from the door.

"My lady?"

The steel was back.

Furtively she wiped her cheeks dry and sat up. She had work to do. Somehow, she was going to have to walk into that audience room today, and face him. She may have been a failure as a mother, but she would be damned if she was going to fail her people. To hell with whatever he or Toph might think of her.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Kazi," she apologized.

"I saw nothing, my lady," Kazi's sympathetic glance proved her words untrue. "Will you be attending the audience today?"

"Of course."

* * *

It didn't escape Akaj's notice that the Fire Lord was more... fidgety than normal. Every time the door opened, he looked up then quickly back to whoever he was negotiating with at the moment. When the waterwitch entered, his eyes lingered on her just a little longer than normal, and hers on him. After that, the fidgeting stopped.

Until a messenger bird was brought in with a scroll for the peasant girl. Akaj simmered as the Fire Lord's eyes followed the wench out the door. Not even five minutes passed before the audience was called to an abrupt halt and the courtiers were sent home to wonder just what had happened. Akaj did not intend to wonder for long.

* * *

There was a light rap at the flap of his hut. He finished throwing his spare parka in his bag and closed it.

"Come in!" Sokka shouted.

He heard the gentle tap as the leather was pulled back, then released. He turned around.

"I thought I would offer you a cup of tea before your long journey," Iroh said.

"Uh, thanks," Sokka gestured to a small table against a tanned-hide wall. The pair sat down and Iroh poured.

"I have brought you a good-luck present," the old man beamed.

"Iroh, you really didn't have to..."

"It was my nephew's, but I think you will have use for it in Omashu."

"Iroh, I don't want..."

"You remind me so much of him sometimes."

"Alright, fine. Will you cut it out if I take it?" Sokka was getting irritated. The old general beamed and thrust a large box into Sokka's hands. Sokka opened it and groaned.

"You've got to be joking!"

"I never joke about my nephew," Iroh protested.

"You know what? Why don't I just wear a sign that says, 'I am the Fire Lord!' It'd be the same thing."

"Yes, but you wouldn't have as many girls hanging off your arm that way," the older gentleman wisely pointed out.

"Good point!" Sokka closed the box and stashed it with his bag.

"Have you sent a letter to your sister?" Iroh asked.

"Yeah, but the ship just left yesterday. It may not get there til we're in Omashu," he blinked as he realized something. "You did send a message to her when you found me, right?"

"Absolutely, but I daresay you can give her more details than I was able to give."

"Well, at least she won't be worrying about me."

"A waterbender in the heart of the Fire Nation? She has enough to worry about. What route are you taking to Omashu?" the strategist in the Dragon of the West was asserting himself.

Sokka pulled out a map. Looking at the boundaries marked on it, he guessed it dated toward the end of Sozen's war. He pointed to a spot near the South Pole that marked the location of the village, and traced a line that followed currents and prevailing winds to the Earth Kingdom.

"Very good," Iroh stroked the hairs on his chin. "That should keep you out of the trade waters."

"I'm not worried about the sailing part. It's the walking part that concerns me. I know this thug. My instincts say the danger is in the Earth Kingdom. He caught me off-guard at sea. He won't get lucky on water again. The woods, that's his territory."

This time, when he headed through those lands, he knew he'd be wishing for a flying bison. The last he had seen of Appa was as he slid off the behemoth's back to grab his sister who was collapsing in premature labor. When he had turned back around, Appa and Momo were nowhere in sight.

Maybe his instincts weren't always right, but with Iroh's head for strategy and planning, maybe the two of them could come up with a plan that would get him to Omashu in one piece.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: the Last Airbender

**Firewater Rose Arc 2 Chapter 8**

The uncomfortable silence between them continued into the following day's bending practice. Zuko couldn't stand it any more. Since their time in the brig, he'd always felt like he could tell her anything, and seeing her standing there, knowing she was holding back, was like a betrayal.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he finally asked.

"There's nothing to say," she said, her voice flat.

"You don't believe that."

"I was raped, I had a child, the child died. I should be glad, shouldn't I?" she spat.

"Why?" he pushed.

"I'm too young to be a mom. I have my entire life ahead of me. I shouldn't have to be reminded of Zhao every time I turn around," she said with all the conviction of a schoolgirl repeating her alphabet.

"Who told you that?"

"Gran-gran. She's seen the world, she's been around a long time. I trust that she knows what she's talking about," Katara said.

"But you're not glad."

"No, I'm not. Every time I see a little girl, I wonder what mine would look like if she had lived! Every time I look at that damned statue, I wonder..." Katara's voice rose in volume.

"Don't say it," Zuko warned. He knew where that line of thought was going. If her daughter was the next Avatar, the child would have survived.

"Why not!" Katara demanded, "Why am I not allowed to think that? Why am I not allowed to be sad? Why can't I cry for my own baby without someone telling me it's for the best!"

The pain in Katara's voice had matured into full-blown maternal rage, and it was directed at him. Without warning, a sheet of water flew up at him and he braced for its freezing impact. He discovered too late that she had found the secret to including firebending principles in waterbending. The water wasn't cold. It was scalding hot.

He collapsed to the ground, clutching his face in his hands, trying desperately not to scream in pain. Through the pain he registered the presence of hands on his shoulders. The hands were pulling him. They wanted him to turn over. Ever-so-gently, he rolled onto his back, his own hands still covering his face. The other hands insistently pulled them away. Then there was coolness on his cheek, and swirls of blue.

He remembered that blue. He had seen them shed tears of fear, tears of pain, and tears of sorrow. His disjointed mind wondered what they looked like shedding tears of joy and tears of laughter.

Before he knew it, he was sitting up. The pain was gone. His face was healed. The only scar left was the one his father had given him. He looked into those blue swirls again.

"I'm sorry," was all she said.

He grinned. "I guess we know what happens when a waterbender tries to use firebending. All you need now is practice."

* * *

"I have work to do," Kazi insisted.

"I only have a few questions, my dear, then you may go about your business," he grinned.

This time, he hadn't summoned her to his estate. This time, he'd cornered her just outside her personal quarters. She put off turning in her reports as long as possible, but she knew the day was swiftly arriving when she would have to make a choice between her mother's health and a woman she'd come to regard with a great deal of respect.

It was her job to anticipate the needs of her master or mistress. She had seen the water-logged robes laid out for the laundry before the rest of the palace was even awake. Out of curiosity she had ventured to the walk that overlooked the Fire Lord's private garden the following morning, and she had seen. If the Fire Lord or the Ambassador had noticed that practice clothing was laid out for them each morning, and court clothing was laid out during breakfast, neither said anything to Kazi about it.

"Tell me," he stepped forward, causing her to take a subconscious step back, "about the Fire Lord and the waterwitch."

"The Fire Lord and the Ambassador?" Kazi asked, winning a few extra seconds for her brain to kick into gear.

"Yes," the snake took another step closer to her, and she backed into a wall.

"I know nothing, my lord. Why would the Fire Lord have any interest in a peasant?" she hoped that playing off of his prejudices would satisfy him.

"Why would the Fire Lord's chief financial advisor have any interest," he reached one bony finger up to touch the soft skin at her throat, "in a maid?" His finger slid down her neck to her collar bone, causing her to swallow involuntarily.

"Remember what else I might have to offer you, Kazi, as father of the Fire Lady. Stay close to the Ambassador. I'll be seeing you again before we depart for Omashu."

Kazi didn't move from the wall until he rounded a corner. She knew too well what her fate would be if Izala sat on the throne. No matter how wealthy their benefactors were, mistresses were never more than something to pull out of a closet to have a little fun, then throw back in when they were done with them. When they grew bored, the mistress and any unfortunate offspring were discarded with the rubbish.

This was a fact of life she'd known all too well, having grown up the child of one of Ozai's maids, watching her mother get shoved in that closet whenever the former Fire Lord was done with her. The fact that her mother had warmed Ozai's bed would be the one thing that saved her from a similar fate, should Zuko decide that the household staff was his personal harem.

Even though it would save her from an amorous Fire Lord, it would only draw more unwanted attention from the likes of Akaj. Though she was careful to never display any of her sire's firebending talent, there was always the possibility that she could pass it on to an heir. That made her status as hired help easy to overlook, particularly if she was made a legally bound concubine, rather than a wife.

Fortunately for Kazi, Zuko had not shown any inclination to take personal liberties with his household staff. The one time she had witnessed someone suggest it, the advisor had been fired on the spot and summarily removed from the palace. Whatever had happened to the Fire Lord during his exile, he would never force a woman to his bed, and thus, Kazi would never be forced to play the card that would stop him.

* * *

He had just finished setting out his displays for the day when she walked into his shop. At first he thought he had the wrong person, but how many Water Tribe women were there in Kuang-feng? She couldn't have been more than eighteen, and she was such a slender and lissome creature, it seemed unreasonable that she could have taken on twelve master earthbenders and lived to tell about it.

"Good morning! I'm looking for a costume, do you have anything in my size?" she asked.

Eagerly, he rushed to her side and took her hand, leading her to a rack toward the back of his shop.

"Of course! I have robes in all sizes and colors and materials! What are you looking for?"

"Um, anything in white? I don't have a lot of money..."

She was sorting through a coin purse. He placed his hand on top of hers.

"No charge. I am honored that the heroine of the Row of Bolts, who single-handedly defeated a small army of Earth Kingdom thugs, would choose my humble shop for her needs!"

"Really it was..." she started to say.

"An amazing thing you did, my dear! Those miscreants had the town guard running in circles trying to catch them. Why, just the week before, they mugged my wife for a week's worth of sales!"

"I'm glad I could be of help," the girl said, warily.

"I am Seong, a master tailor. You are Ambassador Katara, am I right?"

The girl nodded. Seong leaned through a door that led to the back room of his shop.

"Sanji! Sanji! Watch for customers! We have a special guest!"

His wife quietly ducked past him and the Ambassador to watch the front of the shop and allow him to focus on his most honored guest.

The next hour was spent taking measurements and chatting. From the Ambassador, he had gleaned that while the reports of twelve earthbending masters was an exaggeration, she had fought admirably to defend a Fire Nation girl from a viscious assault.

Eventually, she settled on white robes with silver and blue silk lining. For her mask, she had chosen a most interesting pattern. It consisted of sparkling white fish scales over most of the face, and a black diamond-shaped mark centered on the forehead.

Seong set to work immediately after the Ambassador left. He only had two days to prepare a garment that could open up the palace doors to him and his family. If the Ambassador liked his work, if word spread that he had created her costume...

* * *

Three days later, Katara was unpacking on a Fire Navy ship again. There was something comforting in knowing that she only had one room, that Toph was one room away, that Zuko was only a few doors down. She knew there was nothing actually physically different about the ship this time, but everything was different.

They would only be on the ship a week, so she only unpacked a week's worth of clothing in the trunk provided. She opened up the box containing her costume again. Seong's handiwork was truly amazing. She knew he had never seen the Moon Spirit at the North Pole, but he must have seen her in his mind to get the detail so perfect.

Maybe she was silly to choose to go essentially as Yue, but it felt right. The Moon was her guardian, patron of her element. And Yue had been her friend. Maybe Yue would smile on this diplomatic excursion.

Someone rapped on her door, making a metallic clanking sound that echoed throughout the cabin. She put her costume back in the box and stashed it in her trunk before opening the door.

"Scorch wants to know if you'll join us on deck. There's some people on the dock that want to wave at us."

Katara grinned. She let Toph lead her up on deck. Anyone who didn't know them might have thought she was silly to let a blind girl lead her, but apparently Toph's earthbending sight was working just fine. Maybe she couldn't bend metal, but it still vibrated when you stepped on it.

'Some people,' was an understatement. The dock was a sea of faces, banners, handkerchiefs and flowers, all cheering and waving them on. As the ship pulled up anchor and began steaming out of the harbor, a familiar pang hit Katara. The last time she felt it was on the same ship as it pulled away from the South Pole. Had she really begun to think of Kuang-feng as home?


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: the Last Airbender

* * *

**Firewater Rose Arc 2 Chapter 9**

Water Tribe women, Katara decided, were never meant to ride komodo rhinos. The ship was docked at a small Fire Nation town that had been captured from the Earth Kingdom about a decade earlier. It had been a crazy week aboard the ship with Zuko in charge. As soon as the Fire Lord learned that neither she nor Toph had any idea how to ride, he had decreed that they would spend the week learning.

All she got out of it was a sore rump and a litany of, 'heels down, toes up!' Toph had gotten out of it by pointing out that her earthbending sight was severely inhibited by riding. How much of that was true, Katara wasn't sure, but Zuko believed her. Now Katara was sitting astride the scaley beast as it sidled its way down the ramp into the town.

Zuko turned around and grinned at her. "You'll be glad in a week when Toph is complaining about blisters on her feet."

"I'll be glad in a week when we get to Omashu and I don't have to ride this monster anymore!"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of blue running down the street that paralleled the dock. She was about to dismiss it when the wind carried a faint but oh-so-familiar and welcome voice to her ears.

"Katara!"

"Sokka!" she shouted, trying to stand up in the stirrups to get a better look.

"Katara! Boy am I glad I ran into you," her brother panted, trotting past a startled Zuko and right up to her rhino, who ignored his presence. "Have I got a story for you!"

Sokka turned and nodded to Zuko, "Hey, Zuko, mind if I tag along?"

The Fire Lord waved-off his annoyed guards. Katara leaned down and whispered into Sokka's ear. Sokka rolled his eyes at his sister. Then, he straightened his spine and adjusted his tunic. With his head held high, he strode up to Zuko's rhino and bowed deeply.

"May I have the honor of accompanying you to Omashu, Fire Lord Zuko?" he said in the deepest voice he could muster.

Zuko nodded.

"Thanks, Zuzu!"

Katara slapped her forehead in exasperation.

* * *

"You know," Zuko called back to where the siblings were sharing a rhino behind him, "we have some safety harnesses packed. We usually use them for children, but I'm sure we can shorten them for Sokka..." 

Zuko couldn't see Sokka's face, but the muttered curses behind him told him that he'd been heard quite clearly. He grinned. The Water Tribe warrior had been struggling for three days to stay on behind his sister, who found the entire situation very amusing.

"Can I just borrow the one we gave you for Appa?" Sokka threw back at him.

Zuko winced. That was a good one. Katara's laughter drifted up the path, causing him to blush. The guards surrounding him had mixed reactions. The ones who'd been with him the longest kept their faces straight, but their eyes squinted with restrained laughter. Newer guards were unabashedly shocked at the Water Tribe boy's unrestrained teasing of their Fire Lord.

In order to save his pride from further assaults, Zuko squeezed his mount, urging the beast to move closer to the head of the column. Ahead of him, Akaj sat rigidly astride a rhino, riding next to a small sedan that he had managed to bribe someone into allowing on this journey with the excuse that his daughter couldn't be left to her own devices while he was in Omashu. Naturally, a lady couldn't be expected to sit astride a rhino. Naturally.

"My Lord!" Akaj beamed as Zuko's beast approached. "Have you met my daughter?"

Without breaking eye contact with Zuko, Akaj drew the sedan's curtain aside. The girl within was very pretty, but hardly the image of a well-bred lady. She was sitting cross-legged on the seat, obviously bored out of her mind and daydreaming as she picked at the upholstery. Before her father had a chance to turn she adjusted her position to a much more refined pose, which met with her father's approval.

She bowed deeply at the waist, and Zuko nodded in return. He knew what was coming.

_Educated in the finest schools. Minor or no proven talent for firebending, but it does run in the family. Wide hips, good for childbirth. Obedient. Agreeable. _

Everything his father would want in a wife. If she cared as much about the Fire Nation as he did, it would never be known because obedient and agreeable usually meant no backbone. He could never trust his people in the hands of a person with no spine. It would be the same as turning them over to the bureaucrats.

Zuko smiled, nodded, muttered a few pleasantries, and continued moving forward in the column.

* * *

"I knew I should have frozen his face!" Katara muttered. "Are you sure it was him?" 

"Yeah, Katara, I'm sure. I'm also sure..." Sokka was cut-off by an excited shout from his sister.

"Hey! It's Aunt Wu's village! Can we stop in just for a moment? I won't be long!"

Zuko turned around and called the column to a halt. "Sundown is approaching. Make camp."

Katara began to slide off the back of the rhino. Sokka grabbed her shoulder before she dismounted.

"You don't still believe in this stuff?"

"Hey!" she protested, "she's never been wrong!"

"OK, I'll give you the volcano thing. She wins on a technicality. What about the powerful bender? What about that ghost town she sent me and Aang to?"

"One, I'm not married yet, so we don't know, do we?" doubt crept into Katara's voice, "Two, where was it that the two of you found Zuko, again?"

He threw his hands in the air. "I give up. You will never learn, will you?"

Katara smiled back at her brother before pointing the rhino down the path to Aunt Wu's. The siblings were joined by a small entourage of curious Fire Nation soldiers, and Zuko.

* * *

"Good heavens! Not you again!" Aunt Wu exclaimed when she discovered Katara and Sokka in her waiting area. Zuko wondered just how many times the two of them had been to visit the eccentric old woman. 

Aunt Wu gestured to one of his guards. "You first." The guard quietly followed her into the consultation room.

"So," Zuko asked, "What's all this about?"

"She's a fraud."

"No, she's not. She can read your future," Katara countered.

"She can't read the future. She dupes harmless people into doing stupid things that make her predictions come true."

Katara let out an exasperated sigh.

"She reads the future?" he asked, dubious.

"She said the volcano wouldn't destroy the village, and it didn't," she pointed out.

"Only because we were there to stop it! The volcano did erupt. If we hadn't done something, the town would have been wiped out!"

"She was right about you bringing about your own pain and misery," she chided her brother.

"That was coincidence!"

"She was right about Aang's firebending master."

"Yeah, well..." Sokka didn't have a retort for that one. The young man crossed his arms across his chest, slumped against the cushions, and glowered at his sister.

A few minutes later the soldier walked out of the room.

"And don't forget," Aunt Wu prodded her departing customer, "stay away from leechy nuts for at least three months!"

Katara sat up straight and beamed broadly at the old woman. Aunt Wu's gaze passed over her and landed on a second guard. Katara's face and posture fell. One by one, she took the guards into her consultation room, ushering them back out to the waiting area a few minutes later with last-minute admonitions or congratulations. After an hour, only Sokka, Katara and Zuko were left to receive readings.

Aunt Wu's gaze finally settled on Katara. "Alright, but only twenty minutes!"

She practically leapt up from the cushion to follow Aunt Wu into the consultation room.

"She really does believe in this stuff, doesn't she?" Zuko observed.

Sokka said nothing. Zuko stood up. Two of his guards stood with him, but he signaled them to remain behind.

"Where's the, uh..."

Sokka pointed down the hallway.

He rounded the corner, just out of sight of the other waiting guests, and snippets of conversation escaped the thin wall between the hall and the consultation room.

"No change," Aunt Wu firmly said.

"Are you sure? Aang is dead, and you said,"

"I said you would marry a powerful bender. If I saw you marrying the Avatar, I would have told you that!"

"Oh..."

"There is something new," Aunt Wu sounded ominous.

"There is a choice ahead of you. Your two eldest children. In order for one to live, you must allow the other to die."

"What? What kind of choice is that?" she sounded horrified.

"I can see no more of this. I am sorry. Follow your heart, trust in those you love, and all will be as it should be."

Zuko didn't wait to hear any more of the old woman's gloomy predictions. He finished what he'd gone down that hallway to do, then returned to the waiting area just in time to see Katara getting shoved out.

"But I just wanted to ask..."

"No more!" Aunt Wu was losing her patience. She turned to re-enter her chamber when Zuko caught her eye.

"You!" she squinted at him, "You are seeking something."

Before his guards could stop her, she grabbed his palm and began tracing the lines. She pointed to a spot just under his ring finger.

"Aha! You will discover where to find what you seek in Omashu."

* * *

"Well," Katara muttered, "that was certainly cryptic. What was that all about?" 

She peered at Zuko, who merely shrugged in response. With a thoughtful glance over his shoulder, he urged his rhino past the city walls and back to camp. She reached a hand down to her brother, but he merely waved her away.

"It's less than a mile. I think I can walk it."

Only the guards had much to say on the way back to camp. They teased and shouted animatedly to each other as they escorted their Lord back to camp. Zuko, who was caught in the middle, didn't seem to notice.

Katara was so lost in her own thoughts of Aunt Wu's predictions that she almost didn't hear it. Anyone who didn't know what to listen for would probably not even notice it, but Katara had heard it before. A birdcall floated faintly through the treetops above them. She jerked her head up to search the canopy for the source, but it was already twilight.

"Afraid of the dark, Ambassador?" one of the guards teased. He opened his mouth to say more, but the Fire Lord silenced him with a gesture.

"It's not the darkness, but what's hiding in it," her brother responded. He, too, was scanning the branches above them. "We'd better get moving and get back to camp. Keep your eyes open."

"You afraid the boogey-man is gonna drop down out of the trees on top of you?"

"Something like that, only his name is Jet. Earth kingdom bully, uses two blades, picks on harmless old men, slaughters innocent villagers for laughs, and communicates with his cronies by birdcalls. And let's not forget his next favorite activity - sinking Water Tribe trade ships on his days off from harassing the Fire Nation."

Whatever the other guards were about to say never got said.

* * *

High in the branches above them, the subject of their conversation watched the procession with intense interest. The target in front of him was so very tempting. The Fire Lord himself had ventured into his woods. If he thought just a little bit, Jet could feel that last moment of resistence as his blade penetrated the skin and sank into the soft belly of his enemy. 

It was not to be this night. The Fire Lord alone didn't concern him. The entire Fire Nation army didn't scare him. Down there was the only person who'd ever bested him in combat. No, the Fire Lord would have to wait for a time when Katara wouldn't be there to protect him.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I dont own Avatar: the Last Airbender

Sorry for the delays in getting this done. I started writing it… forever ago then I realized that I hadn't seen _Return to Omashu_, so I had to hold on to it until I saw that episode. Then life happened. Chapter 11 is at the beta now.

**Firewater Rose Arc 2 Chapter 10**

Zuko hoped that the unusual procession of firebenders, Water Tribe, and an earthbender made their convoy an unappealing target to brigands. For the remainder of the journey, the siblings glanced periodically above them, but neither mentioned hearing any more unusual sounds. Thanks to Akaj and that darned sedan, the column moved much more slowly than he wanted. His options were to add another day or two to the journey, or continue each day for several hours after any normal entourage would have made camp.

Rather than insulting King Bumi by delaying the summit, Zuko opted for the latter. This meant setting up camp by torchlight - a job much easier for firebenders than the others since they were their own torches. The first time he approached the water tribe siblings to help, he was surprised to find their shared tent already set up. Being from the South Pole, theyd become accustomed to going months with little to no sun, so moving around in the dark was not such a hardship on them.

The mornings werent much better. The extra time it took to get the rhinos rigged for the sedan added another hour onto their morning preparations. Katara had taken to using the delay to practice her waterbending. Zuko had to admit that she was becoming quite good at it. She was gaining conscious control over the water temperature. She still hadnt managed to duplicate the boiling point temperature of her first success, but when it came to bending, she was the most tenacious person hed ever met. Like him, it didnt come easy for her, but she never stopped until she got it right.

The final day of their journey had finally arrived. The city of Omashu had been sighted in the distance the night before. Today, the company would line up two-by-two and descend upon the gates of Omashu as honored guests. As the entourage approached the city walls, he was puzzled by the smooth exterior of the wall, completely lacking a gate.

_Of course! _ he realized in wonder, _Theyre going to earthbend it open!_

And what, exactly, were they going to find on the other side? Rubble, or restoration? How was the Earth Kingdom faring after a year of relative peace? What rebuilt wonders would they find inside? More importantly, would he find the meaning of the old fortunetellers words on the other side?

What was he seeking, anyway? Lasting peace? Yes, he might find some direction for that in Omashu, but that was no revelation. Security and prosperity for his people? Again, not really an epiphany there. Someone to share his throne? Laughable. As if any Earth Kingdom woman would be willing to give as much of herself to his people as he would.

The column halted at the base of the wall. Papers were displayed to the guards posted on the road. In an impressive display of earthbending, the guards forced the stubborn rock apart, revealing the impressive thickness of the wall, and the city beyond.

It had not taken long following the death of Ozai for the city to discard its Fire Nation name and most of the alterations made by the family that had taken over the governorship. Of Mai and her family, nothing was known. Mai herself had followed Azula into the final battle in Sozen, but her parents and younger brother had simply slipped away from the palace in the middle of the night.

"Wow," Sokka gasped behind him, "Bumi sure knows how to fix a place up fast."

Katara gazed silently at the buildings as their entourage filed through the various levels of the city. Some buildings held her gaze longer than others, but she kept her thoughts to herself. In the market, a cabbage dealer scrambled to seal his merchandise within his cart. The group was greeted with a mixture of stunned silence at the presence of the Fire Nation within their midst, and curiosity at the presence of the Water Tribe within the Fire Nation.

The procession halted at the foot of the entrance to the palace. Zuko was surprised to see that like the outer wall, there was no portal through which to gain entrance to the palace. There was merely an Earth Kingdom symbol carved, or more likely, earthbent into the wall.

In front of the symbol, an unassuming hunchbacked figure waited. The man looked for all the world as if hed been dressed by a blind gypsy. His headgear was a bizarre contraption of feathers and shockingly white hair. His robes had ruffles where they should have belts, and belts where there should be hems, and they were the most blinding teal color Zuko had ever seen. It was only through years of discipline that he maintained his composure enough to not fall off his rhino from laughter.

"Fire Lord Zuko, I presume?" the old man cocked one bulging eye in his direction. The other eye seemed to focus on something in the sky above him. The effect was unnerving because Zuko wasnt sure who or what the old man was looking at.

"King Bumi," he bowed reverently.

The aging king stepped carefully down the few stairs between himself and Zukos party, much to his guards chagrin. He scanned the group. His smile turned to an unabashed grin when his eyes alighted on the Water Tribe siblings.

"Well now," Bumis voice creaked, "since were all here, lets all go inside and get comfortable. After you." The old man gestured toward the solid wall.

Zuko stared at the unmovable wall for a moment, then glanced at his host. Bumi burst into howling laughter. He crept up back up the stairs one at a time, howling with each step.

"You want I should get the door for you?"

Zuko heard a pair of barely stifled giggles behind him. He twisted around in his saddle to glare at Sokka and Katara, both of whom were covering their mouths with their hands.

"You'll get used to it," she said to him between chortles. "Its nothing personal."

"Come!" the old king shouted from a bent gap in the wall, "The guards will show you to your rooms."

The entourage dismounted and the rhinos were led away. Despite arguments from Akaj, his daughter was assisted out of her sedan and it was carried away in the same direction that their mounts had gone. For all her father's blustering, the girl didn't seem to mind the open air one bit. A loud rumbling and scraping of stone on stone erupted in front of them, and the entrance to the palace slid open.

The interior of the palace was airy. While his own palace was decorated in rich crimsons, blacks and golds, Bumi had understandably chosen tans, browns and greens for his décor. An elaborate parquet floor extended the entire span of the entrance, and down a pair of opposing hallways. Directly in front of them, a pair of gold-inlaid heavy wood doors blocked their entrance to the throne room.

A stern-faced earthbender stepped in front of his guards and gestured down the hallway to the right. Quickly Zuko turned to glance at Katara, who was being led down the opposite hallway. He signaled for the company to halt before he attempted to follow Katara. Sokka stopped him.

"She said she'll meet you here thirty minutes after dinner," her brother said.

The stone-faced guard led them to their suites.

Zukos suite was acceptable. He was very pleased to discover a real door at the entrance. He and his personal guards had the suite at the far end of the eastern wing. As his captain interviewed the staff that would be loaned to him, he examined the suites security with one of the lieutenants. With a few considerations, he determined that the accommodations were very well-suited to his needs, and began to settle-in for the week of negotiations.

* * *

"I want answers!" a thin, middle-aged man in rich green silks demanded.

"Well," Bumi scratched idly at his chin, "I want my lunch, but the cook isn't done cooking it yet. I guess we'll both just have to wait."

From Sokka's point of view, Bumi had come through his ordeal unchanged. He was still as unconventional as ever. And as amusing. His current exchange with the patriarch of the Bei Fong clan had been going on for ten minutes. Toph's father had brought an entire phalanx of allies and nobles with him to protest Bumi's apparent lack of action regarding the attacks on trade caravans. There was apparently another garrison of merchants and nobles in Omashu poised to… well, Sokka wasn't sure what they were there for, but they lined up on the opposite side of the dais from the Bei Fong contingent like an opposing army. Mentally Sokka had taken to calling them the Bei Fong Army and the Anti-Fong Squad.

"Jet," Sokka said. Every pair of eyes turned to him. Well, except for Bumi, who turned one eye to him. He exhaled slowly. "His name is Jet. Earth Kingdom, about my age, a little shorter than me. He and his so-called Freedom Fighters have been attacking convoys and trade ships for the last six months or more."

One of the Anti-Fong Squad, a balding pasty-faced man, spoke up, "How can you be so sure? You didn't see the attack on Lady Toph."

"I didn't have to. It stinks of Jet. He's been sinking ships off your coast for at least three months now. I know that because he sunk mine."

Sokka thought that would shut pasty-face up, but it didn't.

"If you were attacked on the ocean three months ago, and Lady Toph was attacked on the road three months ago, how could it possibly be the same bandit? No one can be two places at once."

Both armies erupted in loud and vociferous ranting, each one vying for Bumi's attention. Bumi ignored them both, focusing his stronger eye on Sokka. Sokka remained quiet. His only communication was a slight nod in Bumi's direction.

"Sokka and Toph will meet with the Captain of the Guard. They will share what they know and we will get to the bottom of this. Or the top," Bumi's voice rang out over the din. The Bei Fong Army looked mildly satisfied. The Anti-Fong Squad fell silent.

"Ooh," Bumi piped up, turning toward the senior Bei Fong, "Is that the lunch bell I hear?"

* * *

Captain Lei Jing was a veteran in dealing with the Fire Nation, but the Water Tribe warrior was something else. The young man had dragged an artist and the youngest member of the Bei Fong clan into Jing's office six hours earlier with an incredible tale. If it weren't for Bumi's seal on his orders, Jing may have been inclined to throw the Water boy in jail just for the fun of it.

Even with the seal, it was tempting after listening to him argue with the artist for ten minutes over whether or not to include a piece of hay in a drawing of a bandit. The artist thought it would interfere with identification, the Water Tribeling insisted that it was crucial to the problem. After looking at the end result, Jing had to agree with the boy. They hay definitely added something to the image.

The Captain gathered up the first twenty copies of the drawing – wanted posters with the biggest reward since the Blue Spirit – and tucked them under his arm. Outside his office, he handed them off to a junior officer with a copy of Bumi's orders to place the posters outside the various bars and houses of negotiable affection in the city.

With that chore taken care of, he unfurled a second scroll. This scroll carried a slightly different seal. It was from the Minister for International Affairs, but it had absolutely nothing to do with international relations as far as Jing could tell.

"I'm off for the evening. Leng, I'm leaving you in command. I'll be in my quarters in an hour. Don't need me until then, that's an order."

Leng nodded an acknowledgement of the order as Jing carefully draped a cloak over his uniform. With his affiliation completely concealed, he set off toward the seedier part of Omashu.

Along the outer wall he found what he was looking for. It was a run-down bar known for rough whiskey and rougher patrons. The guard didn't even bother trying to patrol the area around it. No one wanted the duty, and none of the denizens wanted them. It was one of those denizens, though, that Jing wanted now.

For six months now they had been in possession of something very valuable to her. It had torn down the first three stalls they put it in, killed two of the people assigned to handle it, and sent five others to the infirmary. Until her debts were paid, it was theirs. Perhaps they thought they might be able to sell it off to some collector, some rare-creature aficionado, or a zoo, in payment of her fines. So far, no one wanted to risk their lives with the beast. That may well turn out to be in their favor.

He stepped inside the bar and immediately noted the foul stench that usually indicated patrons so inebriated and uncouth that they had no care for where they relieved themselves. He glanced around the dimly lit room. She was slumped against the far end of the bar. He knew her by the coiled viper tattoo on her right arm, but nothing else about her was familiar. Six months without work could do that to a woman, he supposed.

He kicked her stool out from underneath her. The bartender lunged for him, but stopped short when Jing flashed the second scroll with the seal facing his attacker. The black-haired woman was on her feet before he turned back around, her whip at the ready.

"Well, well. If it isn't Mr. Law-and-Order. What do you want from me, now?" she scowled.

"I have an offer for you. This is from the highest levels, so don't think you can simply accept and disappear…"

"I'm listening," she didn't move a muscle.

"You get your beast back. We'll be contacting you shortly with a job. You will take it, no questions asked."

"Why should I do your dirty work?" she sneered.

"I said no questions. Do you want your, 'sheer-shoo,' back, or shall I tell the warden to put an arrow through its skull?" he glared at her.

She straightened up and coiled her whip at her waist. "Deal. Where's my xirxiu?"

"I'll have it brought here by the end of the night," he deliberately didn't mention that it would be heavily sedated, and she would get to spend the next several hours watching over the beast while it slept the drugs off.

* * *

Akaj studiously maintained an impassive face during the first day of negotiations. For the most part the Fire Lord was quite capable of weighing the gravity of his decisions without much input from his advisors. There was the occasional opportunity to add his two copper pieces worth to the discussion, but he spent most of the afternoon observing the competition gathered about King Bumi.

Most of the retainers and advisors surrounding the old man seemed benign, but Bumi's Minister for International Affairs was cut from a different cloth. The man's hairstyle marked him as an eastern Earth Kingdom man, perhaps from Ba Sing Se itself. He had no facial hair, and the hairline at his forehead was shaved until it made an even arc with his ears. His voice was smooth, confident and aristocratic. Even the man's name sounded like a threat: Long Feng.

His own agents, his _Kasai-Tsuchi_, were reporting clandestine activities of an organization called the _Dai Li_. It was paramount that Akaj identify the leadership of this _Dai Li_ and eliminate the opposition through alliance or other means. Long Feng was at the top of his list of who could be their leader.

Akaj glanced over the Fire Lord's shoulder to read the document being offered for signature. This one had direct financial ramifications for the Fire Nation, so it was quickly passed to him for review. A handful of locations conquered by Ozai were being returned to the Earth Kingdom. It was fairly straight-forward, and the timeframe was appropriate, but these locations were important strategic positions.

"And what of reparations?" Akaj asked.

An Earth Kingdom general stood so fast his seat fell backwards.

"Reparations?! You want money?" the man fumed.

"My Lord," he turned to the boy-Lord, "Reparations are traditionally required of the defeated at the end of a war. I propose that you sign this document once the Earth Kingdom has granted the Fire Nation amnesty from reparations."

King Bumi began to laugh out loud. "Your advisor is astute. The Earth Kingdom will concede."

Akaj checked Long Feng for a reaction, but the Minister had none. They were evenly matched when it came to hiding personal thoughts. Several other documents passed back and forth. Most involved the release of ranking military officers and political prisoners. The few remaining financial issues to be discussed on the first day were blessed by both Akaj and Long Feng before being signed by their respective monarchs.

The rest of the afternoon did not offer Akaj much insight into the workings of the Dai Li. He would have to wait for a report from his agent tailing Captain Jing to get a better look at the Dai Li's plans.

* * *

Dinner had ended nearly an hour earlier. Zuko paced the length of the entryway, listening to his impatient footfalls echo off the cavernous walls. A second, lighter set of echoes accompanied his own, and he turned to find Katara had appeared in the hallway behind him.

"Sorry I'm late. Toph and her maid had this argument about her feet and, well, it's a long story," she sighed.

"Apology accepted," he smiled, "I was beginning to think you had forgotten."

She blushed.

"No, I," she started.

"Do you want," he said, then he realized she was talking. "Sorry."

"You first," she giggled.

Suddenly it was hard for him to speak. It was all in his head a moment ago, then everything he had thought he was going to say just disappeared.

"I forgot what I was going to say," it was his turn to blush. "What were you going to say?"

"I was wondering," her voice wavered just a little, "since we're in Omashu now, did you still want to spar in the mornings?"

That's what it was he was going to say! All the little words that escaped him moments before fell down around him to be conveniently plucked back up.

"Actually, I was going to ask you the same thing."

"I can understand if you don't have time…" she said, her eyes downcast.

"I know you're going to be busy…" He said.

"Why don't we meet in the courtyard before breakfast?" she offered.

"It's a date," he responded without a thought. When he realized what he had said, he stammered out, "Goodnight, Katara."

"Goodnight, Zuko," she whispered.

* * *

The morning breeze was cool on his bare chest as he finished his warm-up exercises. A whistling in the air was the only warning he got. He ducked just in time to avoid the waterwhip.

"Too slow, waterbender!" he taunted.

"I could have had you any time!" she fired back at him. They faced each other with stances wide, ready for whatever the other one would send their way.

They chased each other in close circles. She would fling a lance of water at him and he would duck underneath it. He would fling a strand of flame at her, and she would bend backwards to avoid it.

She closed the remaining distance between them. In such close quarters she knew she had the upper hand on him. His control of his element was powerful, but even with his degree of control, having the target so close meant taking extra precautions. Her element in the quantities that she was wielding was far less likely to escape her control at any range.

He flung a short flame whip at her left hand, and she didn't pull it back in time. She winced and instinctively pulled her injured arm to her torso. For a moment, he thought he may have done real damage to her. He dropped the whip immediately and gently wrapped his right arm around her shoulder, trying to coax her into letting him get a look at her arm.

He didn't realize his mistake until it was too late. They were still sparring, and she was as determined to win as he was. The water whip was around his ankles almost as soon as his right hand settled on her shoulder. As he fell back, he reached out for the nearest thing to steady himself – Katara. The ground knocked the wind out of him the first time. Katara landing on him did it a second time.

"Hey!" a voice shouted from the palace doors, "You pervert! Get off my sister!"

"Technically, snoozles, she's on top of him…"

"Whatever, the point is," Sokka never got to finish what he was saying. The ground beneath him shot several feet into the air, launching him at his prone sister and Zuko, who wrapped his arms around Katara and rolled them out of the way. Toph didn't try to stifle her laughter.

"Is this a private party, or can anyone join?" she assumed a defensive stance.

The three on the ground stood and dusted themselves off. The battle was on when Sokka ran at Zuko, boomerang poised over his head. He flung it with all his might, only to watch it be intercepted by his sister's whip. In a flurry of hand-waving she diverted the boomerang into a tree trunk and froze it in place, leaving her brother to stare in slack-jawed horror.

It was that moment that Toph launched her attack at Katara. The earth-wave knocked the waterbender off her feet, but Toph never got a chance to capitalize on the advantage. Zuko had her spending all of her time dodging his onslaught. Finally a break came as Zuko was preparing a fireball. Toph leaned forward to stomp the earth and summon a boulder, only to discover her feet frozen to the ground.

"Do you yield?" Katara was grinning where she stood over the fallen Toph.

"Yeah, I yield. Let me up."

Katara released Toph and Zuko rushed over to Katara to take another look at her injured arm.

"I didn't mean to hurt you," he said quietly.

"I know," she smiled. The water that had been restraining Toph drifted up to Katara's good hand, encasing it in a glowing glove. Gently, delicately, she ran the hand over her left arm until all traces of the burn were gone.


End file.
